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iiillliiiiiiMlifiliiiiiiiliiiir TAT E S 




Class _£L^:i_ 

Book hj ^^ 
Copyright )J" 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSnV 



1609-1909 

the dutch in 
New Netherland 

AND 

The United States 




PRESENTED BY 

The Netherland Chamber of Commerce 
in Am.erica 

ON OCCASION OF 

The Hudson-Fulton Celebration 
in New York 

SEPTEMBER 2STI-I TO OCTOBER 9TH 

1909 



\ 



Nieuw Nederlant is een seer schoon aen- 
genaem gesont en lustigh lantschap daer . 
het voor alderley slagh van fuenschen be- 
ier en ruymer aen de kost of gernackelyck- 
er door de ivevelt te geraken is als in Ne- 
derlant offte eenige andere quariieren des 
werelts tnyn bekent. 

Adriaen van der Donck, 1656. 



Copyrighted 

The Netherland Chamber of Commerce 

IN America 

1909 ^y^H^X 



248567 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Directors of the Chamber _ _ - - 5 

Constitution of the Chamber - . - - 7 

Contract with Henry Hudson - - - - 14 

(Original text) 

Contract with Henr}^ Hudson - - - - 16 

(English Translation) 
The Dutch in New Netherland 

and The United States . - - - 19-73 

Nkw Nktherland 

Exploration of the Hudson in 1609 - - 19 
Fur traders 1609-1612 - - - - 20 
Block's exploration of Long Island Sound 
and formation of the United New Nether- 
land Company 20 

Chartering of the West India Co. in 1621 - 22 
First settlers arrived under leadership of 

Jesse de Forest ----- 22 

Claims of Holland and England - - 23. 

Captain May, first head of the Colony - 24 

Pieter Minuit, first Governor - - - 24 

Erection of Fort Amsterdam - - - 25 
Patroons and the Act of Privileges 

and Exemptions ----- 26 

Settlement of Rensselaerwyk - - - 28 
Wouter van Twiller, second Governor and 

arrival of the first garrison - - - 28 

Origin of Governor's Island - - - 29 

Troubles with the English in Connecticut 30 

Governor Kieft and the Indian Wars - 32 

Bronk's Treaty 35 

Pieter Stuyvesant appointed Governor - 36 
Religious intolerance of the Governor - 37 
The patroons and the Governor - - 38 
The capture of New Sweden - - - 40 
Fall of New Netherland - - - - 41 
Anton van Korlaer and Spuyten Duyvel - 43 
Recapture by the Dutch - - - - 44 
Nev/ Netherland exchanged for Surinam 44 
The Dutch and English people and repre- 
sentative Government - - - - 45 
Religious freedom and Public Schools - 46 
The Church and the Dutch Domines - 47 



CONTENTS (Continued) 

Page 

The Democratic Dutch . . - - 47 

Troubles of the housewives - - - 48 

The remaining years of Stuyvesant - - 49 

The Dutch under English rule - - 49 

King James II. dethroned - - - 50 

The Jacob Leisler episode - - - 51 

lyeisler and his son-in-law executed - - 52 

Destruction of Schenectady - - - 53 

Captain Kidd ------ 54 

I\Iutual friendship of the Dutch 

and English people - - - - 55 

The Dutch during the Revolutionary War 55 

Support from Holland - - - - 57 
The Dutch language ceases to be spoken 

in America 57 

The Dutch Reformed Church - - - 58 

Thb United States 

Holland Land Company - - - - 59 
Emigration under the rule of 

King William I. 60 

Settlers in Iowa under Domine Scholte - 60 

Michigan and Chicago - ... 60 

Fruit growers in California - - - 61 

Paterson, N. J. - - - - - - 61 

Sayville, L. I. ------ 62 

Philadelphia, Pa. . - - - - 62 

Extradition treaty made in 1872 - - 62 

Holland America lyine - - - - 63 

West India Mail 64 

Holland newspapers in America - - 65 

Conditions in New York City - - - 65 

Professionals as emigrants - - - 66 

Eendracht Maakt Macht - - - - 67 
The Netherland Chamber of Commerce 

in America 68 

The Netherland Club of America - - 69 
The Netherland Benevolent Society 

of New York 70 

Our Consul-General .71 

Advice to newcomers - - - - 71 



Birectorsf 

of 

tlTfje igetfierlanb Cfjamber of Commerce 
in America 

J^onorarp ^resibcut 

JHR. DR. J. LOUDON 
Minister of The Netherlands at Washington, D, C. 

?i^onorarj> ^ice^^resibent 

J. R. PLANTEN 
Consul-General of The Netherlands at New York 

Cerm Cxpircsi m 1910 

CORNELIUS VANDERBIIvT 
T. GREIDANUS 

Cerm Expires; in 19 U 

COL. JOHN JACOB ASTOR 

W. BAYARD VAN RENSSELAER 

D. G. BOISSEVAIN 

JOHN F. PRAEGER 

^erm Cxpiresf in X9X2 

STUYVESANT FISH 
W. C. HOUSTON 
A. GIPS 
J. SCHIMMEL 

(Biiittvi 

^resibcnt 
D. G. BOISSEVAIN 

■^icC'^reSibent 

STUYVESANT FISH 

^ecretarp^tCreasurcr 

T. GREIDANUS 

Counsel 

A. L. PINCOFFS, LL.D. 

5 



Committee on Ilmport anb Cxport tCrabe 

For the Year 1909-1910 

D. G. BOISSEVAIN, ex-officio 

T. GREIDANUS, ex-officio 

H. BRUGMAN J. EZN. 

LOUIS I. DUBOURCQ 

J. H. DUYS 

A. C. H. NYLAND 

glubit Committee 

For the Year 1909-1910 

IvOUIS I. DUBOURCQ 
FRED. C. GOLDSMITH 

Committee on dominations 

For the Year 1909-1910 

B. HENDRIKS 

E. VUERBOOM 

H. J. VON HEMERT 



il^ankerjs 
THE COAL AND IRON NATIONAL BANK 



De correspondentie met de Kamer kan in liet 
Hollandsch worden gevoerd. 



Con£{titution 

of 

^etjerlanb Cfjamtjer of Commerce 
in America 

Incorporated under the laws of the State of New York, 
May 28, 1903. 

Artici^k I. 

This Society shall be called "Thk Nethkri.and 
Chamber of Commerce in America." 

Article II. 

(©bjECt 
" The Netherland Chamber of Commerce in Amer- 
ica " is founded to represent and foster in the United 
States the interests of the commerce, industry, agri- 
culture, navigation, arts and science of the Netherlands 
and its Colonies, and to increase the commerce of the 
United States with the Netherlands and its Colonies. 

Article III. 
(Offices 
The principal offices of the Chamber shall be in the 
City of New York. 

Branch offices may be established in other cities of 
the United States. 

Article IV. 
glnnual anb TLilt itlcmbersJ 
There shall be Annual and Ivife Members. 
Kligible to membership shall be : 
FirsL Hollanders, Dutch firms, corporations and 
institutions. 

7 



8 Constitution 

Secojid^ Naturalized Americans of Dutch parentage. 

Third, Americans of Dutch ancestr3\ 

Application for membership must be made to the 
Board of Directors, who shall elect the members. 

The dues of annual members residing in the United 
States shall be ten dollars, and of annual members 
residing outside of the United States ten guilders, 
paj^able the 1st of May of each year. 

The payment of two hundred dollars at one time 
by a person eligible to membership and residing in 
the United States, shall constitute such person a life 
member ; the payment of two hundred guilders by a 
person eligible to membership, and residing outside 
of the United States, shall likewise constitute him a 
life member, but only natural persons shall be eligible 
to life membership. 

The fiscal year shall run from the 1st of May to the 
30th of April. 

Any member failing to notify the Secretary in 
writing before the close of the fiscal year of his inten- 
tion to terminate his membership shall be considered 
a member for the ensuing year. 

ARTICIvE V. 

iHemfaerg exofficio 
Dutch Consuls in the United States shall be mem- 
bers ex-officio. 

Article VI. 

llosisf of iflemfacrgfjip 

The Board of Directors shall have power to drop 

from the roll of members the name of an^^ member 

who may fail to pay his dues within three months 

after the same are due. 



Constitution 9 

The Board of Directors may also expel any member 
for dishonorable conduct or dealings, but only after 
a hearing of such member at a regular meeting of the 
Board of Directors, at which no less than six directors 
must be present and by a two-thirds vote of the direct- 
ors present, provided that due notice be given by the 
Secretary- Treasurer, both to the accused member and 
to all the directors, of the day when such hearing 
shall be held and of the charge against such member. 
If the accused member shall not appear at such hear- 
ing in person or by proxy, the vote may be taken on 
his expulsion the same as though he had appeared. 

Article VII. 
jfounbersf anb Bonorg 

A donation of one hundred dollars by a member 
residing in the United States, or of one hundred 
guilders by a member residing outside of the United 
States, made within the first year after the incorpor- 
ation of the Chamber, shall entitle such member to 
the name of Founder, and a list of such Founders 
shall be published in every annual report of the 
Chamber. 

Such a donation made after the first year after the 
incorporation of the Chamber shall entitle such mem- 
ber to the name of Donor, and a list of such Donors 
shall also be published in every annual report of the 
Chamber, 

Article VIII, 
Associate jHembcrjf 

Any person, firm, corporation or institution, if 
engaged in pursuits connected with the purpose of 
the Chamber, may be admitted by the Board of Direc- 
tors as an Associate Member upon an annual payment 
of ten dollars. 



10 Constitution 

Article IX. 
Bircciorjf, officers anb fjonorarp officer^ 

The affairs of the Chamber shall be managed by a 
Board of Directors, consisting in addition to the hon- 
orary officers hereinafter named, of ten members, 
who shall be elected at the annual meeting and who 
shall elect from their number a President, Vice- 
President and Secretary-Treasurer ; and all powers 
not specifically conferred on the members at their 
annual meeting shall vest in said Board of Directors. 

One-half of the members of the Board, including 
the President and Secretar^'-Treasurer, shall be resi- 
dent Hollanders or naturalized Americans. The other 
members shall be chosen from the members of Dutch 
ancestry . 

The members of the Board of Directors shall be 
chosen for terms of three j-ears, subject to the follow- 
ing provision : The Board of Directors to be elected 
at the first annual meeting (1904) shall divide itself 
into three classes, the first class consisting of four 
members retiring at the end of the first year, the 
second class consisting of four at the end of the 
second year, and the third class consisting of two at 
the end of the third year, the members of each class 
being half resident Hollanders or naturalized Amer- 
icans and half Americans of Dutch ancestry. 

In 1905 at the annual meeting, and annually there- 
after. Directors shall be chosen for terms of three 
years in place of those whose terms shall then expire. 

The members of the Board shall be eligible for re- 
election. 

The election of officers shall be by ballot and the 
majority of the votes shall be necessary for an election. 



Constitution 11 

Should a vacancy occur in the Board of Directors, 
a successor for the unexpired term shall be elected by 
that body. 

The Minister of the Netherlands at Washington, 
D. C, shall be Honorary President. The Consul- 
Gen eral of the Netherlands in the City of New York 
shall be Honorary Vice-President. 

Article X. 
ill£ettng£( of tf)e ^oarb o! I^irectorsi 

The Board of Directors shall meet at the call of the 
President, and such shall also be made upon the 
written request of any three members of the Board. 

Three Directors shall be necessary to constitute a 
quorum. 

Article XI. 
JSutifS of 0iiittx^ 

Presidgtit. — The President shall exercise a general 
supervision over the affairs of the Chamber. He, or 
in his absence, the Vice-President, shall preside at 
all meetings of the Chamber and of the Board of 
Directors, and he shall have the casting vote in case 
the number be equal on a division. 

In the absence of both President and Vice-President, 
a presiding officer shall be selected, chosen b}- and 
from the Board of Directors. 

In addition to the powers hereby specifically con- 
ferred, the President shall have such power as shall be 
conferred on him by the Board of Directors. 

Vice-President, — The duties of the President, in 
case of his absence, shall devolve upon the Vice- 
President. 



12 Constitution 

Secretary- Treasurer. — The Secretary-Treasurer 
shall have the care of all documents and shall con- 
duct the correspondence of the Chamber and of the 
Board of Directors. He shall keep minutes of the 
proceedings of the Chamber and of the Board of 
Directors. 

He shall notify members of their election and shall 
give due notice of all meetings. 

He shall prepare the annual report, covering the 
proceedings of the Chamber, as well as other reports 
which the Chamber may publish, under the general 
guidance of the Board. 

He shall have charge of all moneys and other assets 
of the Chamber. 

He shall at the annual meeting present a statement 
of the financial affairs of the Chamber. This state- 
ment must have been previousl_v audited by two 
members appointed for the purpose by the Chamber 
at the preceding annual meeting. 

The Board of Directors shall fix the salary of the 
Secretary-Treasurer. 

Article XII. 

The chamber shall hold an annual meeting on the 
third Saturday in the month of May for the purpose 
of electing members of the Board of Directors and for 
the transaction of such other business as may come 
before the meeting. 

In addition to the Annual Meeting, special meet- 
ings may be called when the Board shall judge proper, 
and also when requested in writing by any ten mem- 
bers; in such request the object for which such meet- 
ing is desired shall be specified. 



Constitution 13 

Ten members of the Chamber shall be necessary to 
constitute a quorum. 

The Secretary shall give at least five days notice of 
the time and place of all meetings of the Chamber to 
the members residing in the United States, and at 
least three days notice of all meetings of the Board of 
Directors to the directors. 

Voting b}' proxy is not allowed at any of the meetings 
of the Chamber. 

Article XIII. 

The Board of Directors shall have power to make 
all By-I/aws not inconsistent with this constitution. 

ARTICI.K XIV. 

The Chamber is prohibited from engaging in an)"- 
commercial transaction on its own account or in any 
transaction other than those necessary- for the execu- 
tion of its purposes. 

Article XV. 

Smenbrnents 

Amendments to any part of this Constitution shall 
be made only at a special meeting called for the pur- 
pose of making such amendments, such object being 
expressed in the notice of such special meeting. 



14 The Dutch in New Netherland 

M^^ontract met ||enrp llubson ^ 



/^P heden Den 8 January inV Jaar onses Heeren Een 
Duysent ses Hondert e7i negeyi syn met 7nalkan- 
dcren geaccordeert en overkomen De Bezvintheb- 
beren van de Oost Indische Compagnie vafi de Carner 
van Amsterdam van de tienjarige Reeckse ter eenre^ 
En Mr. Henry Hudson Engelsman ter andere syde^ 
In nianiere navolgende . Te weten : Dat de voorst : 
Beuuinthebberen metten eersten sullen equyperen een 
scheephen ofjaght, van onitrent Dertigh lasten waar- 
mede de voom : Hudson omtrent den eersten van 
April, van volck, vivres en andere nootlyckheden wel 
voorsien sal seylen om passagie te soecken door V 
noorden, benoorden Nova Senibla om, en soo lange de 
longitudine vervolghen, dat hy sal konnen sylen zuyd- 
waart tot op de hooghte van sestigh graden, en soo 
veel kennisse van Landen sien te be konnen als sonder 
menchelyck tyt vei^lies sal konnen geschieden en is V 
doenlyk stracks wederom keereii, 07n aan de Bezuinthe- 
bberen te doen getrouzvelyck rapport en relaes van syn 
reyse, en overgeven syn Journalen, Coursen^ kaerten, 
en alles zvat hem op de reyse zvedervaeren is, sonder 
iets aghter te houden, Opwelcke aanstaende reyse de 
Bezvinthebberen aan den voo7'st: Hudson sullen betalen 
soo tot syn uytrustinge op de voorst: reyse, als tot 
onderhoui van syn vrouzv en kinderen, de somme van 
aght Hondert Gulden, en ingevalle {daar Godt voor 
sy) hy in een jaar niet zvederomme hier te lande, of 
hier omtrent en quaine te arriveren, sulle7i de Beunnt- 
hebberen nogh aaii syn Huysvrouwe betalen twee 
Hondert Gl courant, en alsdan aan hem en syne erven 
niet vorder gehouden syn. Ten zjuaere hy doer n.x 



and The United States 15 

nogh moghte komen te arriveren, ofte dat hy bi?inens 
jaars gekomen waar, ende de passagie goet ende 
bequaeni datse Cofnp: wedercnime sonde gebruycken^ 
gevonden hadde, In welcken gevalle de Benmithebberen 
aan den voorn: Hudson voor syne periculen, moeyten 
en kojiste sullen recompenseren tot hare discretie 
waarmede de voorn : Hudson tevrede7i is. Ende in- 
gevalle de Beivinthebberen goetvonden alsdan deselve 
reyse te vervolgen en continueren^ is met den voorn : 
Hud so 71 geaccordeert en verdragen dat hy hier te 
Lande syn woonstee met vrouw eji kinderen sal nemen^ 
en hem vait niemant anders als van de Comp: laten 
gebruycken en dat tot redelyckheid en discretie van de 
Beivinthebberen die hem ook van den selven dienst 
vorderen alsdan in alle billyckheit en redelyckheit 
beloven te vergenoegen en contenteren, A lies sonder 
argh of list. In ken?iisse der waerheyt syn hier vaii 
gemaeckt twee contraden van eenen teneur, en by beyde 
partyen onderteyckent, alsmede by Jodocus Honditis, 
als tolck en getuyge, Datum als bovefi, was eeteeckent, 
Dirck van Os, J. Poppe, Henry Hudson, lager sfont 
By my Jodocus Hondius als getuyge, 




16 The Dutch in New Netherland 



ontract toitf) l^enrp l^ubs^on 



r\N this daVy the 8th of January in the year of our 
Lord, One Thousand Six Himdred and Nine 
the Directors of the East India Company of the 
Chamber of Amsterdam of the ten yearly series on the 
one part a7id Mr. Henry Hudson, Englishman, on 
the other part, have agreed as follows. To ivit: The 
Directors mcfitioned above ivill equip a ship or yacht 
of about thirty tons, ivith which the said Hudson, pro- 
vided ivith a creiv, victuals and other necessaries, will 
sail on or about the first of April to look for a passage 
through the North^ north of Nova Sembla^ and will 
continue to sail in longitudinal direction until he will 
be able to sail to a latitude of sixty degrees, and will 
endeavor to obtain as tnuch knozvledge as possible of 
countries as ivill be possible zvithout exceptional loss of 
time and, if possible, luill afterwards return to report 
faithfully to the Directors, ivill deliver his logbook, 
courses, charts and 7uill relate all events of his jour7iey, 
zvithout hiding anything ; for which voyage the Direc- 
tors will pay unto the said Henry Hudson ^ as well for 
his equipment as for the keep of his wife and 
children, the sum of Eight Hundred Guilders, and in 
ca^e {which the Lord pr eve nieth) he does not j-eturn in 
this country, or in its neighborhood, within a year, 
the Directors zvill make an additional payment to his 
wife of Two Hundred Guilders currency, and after 
that will not be held to any further payments to him- 
self or his heirs. Unless after that time he were still 
to return, or in case he returns within a year, atid that 
he has properly found the passage so that the Company 
can make use of same again ^ in zvhich case the Direc- 



and The United States 17 

tors will reward the said Hudson as they may see fit 
for his perils, troubles and s/iill, with zvhich the said 
Hudson will be satisfied. Ana in case the Directors 
decide to continue the use of this same route, it is 
agreed that the said Hudson, with his ivife and child- 
ren, will take up domicile in this country and will not 
place his services at the disposal of anyofie but the 
Company and such at the discretion of the Directors, 
who will demand of him such services and promise to 
reward him as is just and reasonable. All this agreed 
to in good faith. In witfiess whereof two contracts 
have been made of the same tenor and signed by both 
parties, as also by Jodocus Hondius as interpreter and 
witness. Date as above, was signed, Dirck van Os, 
J. Poppe, Henry Hudson, and lower. By me Jodocus 
Ho7idius as witness. 



Wi)t Butdj in Mt^ i^etfjerlanb 

anti 

tlTfje ^niteb States?. 

That ' ' the Dutch have taken Holland " is so well 
known that such statement will never give any cause 
for argument; but that the Dutch once upon a time 
also took ' ' little old New York, ' ' or rather the land 
upon which our proud city now stands, we have onlj;^ 
recently been reminded by the preparations for the 
great celebration which is now so near at hand. And 
even at present the accomplishments of the Dutch 
in America are somewhat crowded into the back- 
ground by the name of the Englishman command- 
ing the first ship that explored the waters of the 
great and majestic river now bearing his name. 

The exploration of this river however was only 
incidental to the subsequent events that have been 
very material agents in creating a form of government 
and conditions as we know them to-day. It is there- 
fore the intent of this little booklet to give, in brief, 
the story of happenings in this section of the world, 
and principally to show the part played by the Dutch 
people in the development of political and social life. 

Recent publications have fully informed us regard- 
ing the entering of the bay by '* De Halve Maene," 
under command of Hudson, on September the of the Hudson 
2nd, 1609; that he sailed up the river to the present in i609 
site of the city of Albany, and again set sail for 
Europe on October the 4th, arriving in Dartmouth 
on November the 7th. Here *'De Halve Maene" 
was detained by the English, but after some delay a 
new crew arrived from Holland and she was taken 
19 



20 



The Dutch in New Nether land 



Fur 

Traders 

1609-1612 



Block's explo- 
ration of L,ong 
Island Sound 
and formation 
of the United 
New Nether- 
land Company 



back to Amsterdam, with Robert Juet in charge, 
Hudson remaining in England and re-entering the 
service of the Muscovy Company, with which he had 
been connected before contracting with the Kast India 
Company. 

The stories brought to Holland about quantities of 
furs obtainable in the valley of this river, induced 
many merchants to despatch vessels to the newly dis- 
covered territory, and between the years 1609 and 
1612 we find records of large numbers of vessels 
which set sail for our coast. If during these years 
settlements were built, they must have been of a very 
temporary nature, merely for the purpose of collect- 
ing furs, as we find no reliable records referring to 
permanent colonies. 

Amongst the many traders visiting these shores, we 
find the names of Adriaan Block and Hendrick Christ- 
iansen, who in 1612, respectively in the " Tyger " 
and the " Fortuin," set sail for the new world. 
Returning from one of his voyages. Block brought 
back with him, in addition to the usual cargo of furs, 
two sons of Indian chiefs, the first which had ever 
been seen in Holland. Christiansen thoroughly explor- 
ed the Hudson river between the years 1612 and 1621, 
during which period he made ten trips to the Upper 
Hudson, in which region he built a fort on the site of 
the present city of Albany, while iu 1614 he erected a 
"ronduit, " or circular fort, at Esopus. 

Adriaan Block's vessel, from some cause or other, 
caught fire and was totally destroyed. A new ship, of 
about 16 tons burden, was built to replace the 
"Tyger". This vessel, called the "Onrust, '* rep- 
resented the first product of the shipbuilder's skill on 
the island of Manhattan. 



and The United States 21 

At this time, in March, 1614, the Dutch Congress 
promised that he who discovered a new country and 
should give information thereof within a fortnight 
after his return in the fatherland, after having made 
four voyages to the new land, would receive a 
monopoly of its trade. 

His ambition fired by this offer, Block decided to 
sail up the East River and explore the country in that 
direction, when, to his great surprise, in proceeding 
up the Long Island Sound, he found what he at first 
believed to be an inland sea. It should be added that up 
to this time it was believed that New England came 
down to the sea, and no knowledge existed regarding 
a sea-arm between the mainland and an island facing 
the ocean. He explored the surrounding country and 
waters, discovering Block Island and Block Island 
Sound, which have perpetuated his name. While Block 
was engaged in exploring the Sound, Christiansen 
made a trip along the south coast of Long Island, and 
their combined efforts resulted in a complete map of 
the island and the surrounding waters. 

On October the 1st, 1614, Block arrived in Holland 
with this new map, showing the island, numerous 
waterways and a new approach to Manhattan, as also 
many rivers and the location of several Indian tribes. 

On the 11th of the same month a charter was issued 
and "The United New Netherland Company" was 
formed, which controlled the territory lying between 
the Connecticut and Susquehanna rivers. 

As the foregoing events have shown, the only 
object in visiting these shores was the gathering of 
riches— no desire for permanent settlement existed as 
yet— this was to be brought about by other causes. 
At this time, during the twelve year's truce, Holland 



22 



The Duich in New Netherland 



Chartering 
of the West 
India Company 
in 1621. 



First settlers 
arrive under 
leadership of 
Jesse de Forest 



was prosperous, and her ships visited every sea and 
ever}' shore to obtain valuable merchandise for the 
markets of the fatherland. And even during war times 
far more applicants were found to join the fleet and 
go forth to capture rich Spanish galleons, than could 
be obtained to follow the peaceful and quiet pursuit of 
settling in and developing a new country. 

In 1621, after the truce wdth Spain had expired, the 
West India Company was chartered. The Governor- 
General of the corporation had to be commissioned 
and approved by Congress, but, with this exception, 
its powers were sovereign. It could effect treaties 
and alliances with princes and potentates, erect forts, 
plant colonies, carry on war and establish govern- 
ments. As we have said, there were few Dutch 
willing to set forth as colonists of the new possessions, 
and settlers were hard to find. There were in Hol- 
land, however, several hundred thousands of Wal- 
loons, living as exiles from their own country in the 
land where religion and speech was free, and of these 
some few were willing to try their fortunes in the new 
world. 

Under leadership of Jesse de Forest thirty-one 
families from Ivcyden set forth in the ' ' Nieuw Neder- 
land," in March, 1623, accompanied by the armed 
yacht, "DeMakreel," under command of Captain Cor- 
nelis J. May. On arrival in the bay, several families 
disembarked on the land named after the seven 
states of the Republic, Staten Island. In a " bocht " 
or bend in the East River others made a settlement, 
in commemoration of which event this ' ' bocht ' ' was 
afterwards called ' ' Walen Cocht, ' ' and the change 
to the present name of "Wallabout" in Brooklyn 
can easily be traced. Eighteen families were carried 



Holland and 
England 



and The United States 23 

up the river, settling on the site of the city of Albany, 
under command of Adrian Joris, the Lieutenant of 
Captain May; and it was in this settlement, in June, 
1625, that the first baby in the colony was born. 

Before proceeding further it might be well to see in 
how far the Netherlands had a clear title to the terri- Claims of 
tory newly occupied, according to international rights 
as understood in those days. 

In the original charter of Virginia, as issued in 
1606, King James of England claimed possession of 
that part of America lying between the 34th and 45th 
parallel, but at the same time it should be borne in 
mind that it was Queen Elizabeth v/ho asserted the 
doctrine that mere discovery of lands across the sea 
was not sufficient to provide the discoverer with a 
valid title, but that this should be followed up by set- 
tlement and occupation. 

In 1619, Thomas Dermer, an English navigator, 
was sent out by the Plymouth Company to make a 
trip of exploration through these waters, and on this 
occasion he followed the same route taken by Adrian 
Block, only in reversed direction. He came down the 
East River and passed Manhattan without touching, 
and without noticing any Dutchmen. In the spring 
of 162U he returned and found on Manhattan many 
busy fur traders, to whom he remarked that they 
were trespassing on English territory, to which they 
replied that they had found no Englishmen when 
they came here and hoped that they had given no 
offence. When Dermer returned to London with the 
news of the busy fur trade which was carried on in 
Manhattan, a new charter was drawn up in the name 
of the Council of New England, by which possession 
was claimed of all lands lying on the American Conti- 



24 



The Dutch in New Nethcrland 



Captain May, 
first head of 
the Colony 



Pieter Minuit. 
first Governor 



nent between the 40th and 48th parallel and reaching 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. In this docu- 
ment it was claimed that King James was credibly 
informed that these lands were not yet settled by 
Christian people, but taken in consideration that such 
territory would also include New France, it may 
reasonably be suspected that the King's information 
did not come from very reliable sources. 

A year later the English ambassader in the Hagne 
was instructed to call the attention of the States Gen- 
eral to the fact that the Dutch in America were occu- 
pying territory belonging to England, but the result- 
ing discussions do not seem to have had any effect, 
and it cannot be traced whether any answer was sent 
to the English Government. 

In opening up these settlements, the Dutch had the 
advantage over their neighbors in the previous exper- 
ience of the Dutch East India Company in other 
parts of the world. They knew what should be pro- 
vided for, and came well equipped with building and 
farming implements, seeds, etc. In 1625 the first 
two shiploads of cattle and horses, pigs and sheep 
arrived, so that the colony was now w^ell on the way 
to become a full fledged community, prepared to sup- 
ply its own wants. 

Tlie first settlement in Manhattan was started under 
the leadership of Captain May, who in 1624 was suc- 
ceeded by Willem Verhulst. The colony, however, 
began to look so promising, that the West India Com- 
pany decided to send a Director-General to take over 
the reins of the government. As such it appointed 
Pieter Minuit, who sailed on December the 19th, 1625, 
in the good ship ' 'Zeemeeuw, ' ' arriving on INIay the 4th, 
1626 and bringing with him the " ziekentroosters", 



and The United States 25 

or comforters of the sick, Sebastiaan Janseii Krol and 
Jan Huyck, to look after the spiritual welfare of the 
burghers. Isaac de Rasieres, who had arrived July 
the 26th, 1625, on the ship "Het Wapen Van Am- 
sterdam," was appointed as his secretary, and he was 
further assisted in the task of governing by a council 
of five members, which were chosen from the Dutch 
in the colony, 

Pieter Minuit's first official act was the purchase 
from the Indians of the island of Manhattan, and for 
the sum of sixty guilders, or twenty -four dollars, he 
obtained for the com munit}^ about 22,000 acres, which 
were paid for in beads, knives and similar articles. 

The next work in hand was the building of a fort, 
which was erected on the site where the present 
custom house now proudly stands. The builder of Erection of 
this fort, which was called Fort Amsterdam, was Ft. Amsterdam 
Kryn Frederickse. It had four bastions, brick work 
on the inside and sodded on the outside, but no moat 
was dug around it. It may also be remarked that the 
colony was equipped with a horse-mill for the bolting 
of flour, the loft of which on Sundays served as place 
of worship. 

The settlers of the upper Hudson in Fort Nassau 
in the meantime had succeeded in winning the good 
will of the Mohawk Indians, and carried on a lively 
trade in furs from that valley. The colonists of 
New Amsterdam went after the same product in their 
vessels and cruised the coast from Connecticut down 
to the Delaware river. In order to promote this trad- 
ing, Pieter Minuit greatly encouraged shipbuilding, 
and had even the keel laid of a ship of 800 tons bur- 
den, called the " Nieuw Nederland," which was 
loaded with furs and despatched to the fatherland, in 



26 



The Dutch in New Netherlarid 



order to show what the colony could do. More and 
more the attention of Holland was drawn to the New 
World, which showed such great possibilities ; demon- 
strated in a way by the following trade figures of New 
Amsterdam for the year 1630 : 

Imports, - - 113,000 guilders. 

Exports, - 130,000 

(or an excess of exports of 17,000 *' ) 

Though this may be considered a fairly good show- 
ing for a colony only newly started in a wilderness, it 
was hardly sufficient to create much excitement 
amongst the Directors of the West India Company. 
The principal object of this organization was to go 
after the spoils of war, which promised such rich 
harvests in the captured fleets of the Spanish, while 
colonization was only a secondary consideration. If 
it be realized that the capture of the silver fleet in 
1628 left the company proceeds of $15,000,000, and that 
the next year sundry privateers brought in a bounty 
of over $8,000,000 ; that in 1630 Brazil was taken and 
occupied — these successes resulting in dividends of 25 
and 50 per cent. — it need cause no wonder that so 
little attention was paid to the settlements in the 
Hudson River Valley. Those were "getting rich 
quick " days for large corporations, and the slow and 
tedious procedure of colonizing and cultivating new 
countries found little favor in the eyes of the men at 
the helm. 

The realization that greater inducements had to be 
offered to increase the development of the colony, led 
to the creation of the so-called " patroon system." 
In 1629 the West India Company issued its charter of 
" Privileges and Exemptions," by which it was de- 
clared that any member of the Company who should 



a72d The United States 27 

bring to and settle in New Netherland, within tlie 
next four years, 50 grown up persons, should receive 
a liberal grant of land to hold as *' patroon ' ' or lord. 
Such land might have a frontage of 16 miles if on one 
side of a river, or 8 miles if situated on both sides. 
The patroon would be chief magistrate on his land, 
but disputes of more that 50 guilders could be appealed 
to the Director and his Council in New Amsterdam. 
The tenants would be free from all taxation for 10 
years, but during this period they v\ould not be 
allowed to change from one estate to another, or to 
move from the country to the town. The patroons 
would have full liberty to purchase goods in New 
Netherland, New England or New France, with ex- 
ception of furs, but such goods would have to pay in 
New Amsterdam an export tax of five per cent, before 
they could be shipped to Europe. The fur trade 
remained a monopoly of the Company. The weaving 
of cloth was prohibited in order not to curtail the 
field for the looms in Holland. 

The first manor under this charter was acquired by 
Samuel Godyn and Samuel Blommaert, two of the 
Company's Directors, who started a settlement called 
Swaenendal on the Delaware Bay, but the colonists, 
32 in number, after the settlement had been in exist- 
ence for only a short while, were murdered by the 
Indians. 

The second venture was by Michael Pauw, who 
obtained land on the present site of Jersey City, call- 
ing it Pavonia, which name still survives. The enter- 
prise however, was not a financial success and he 
finally sold his holdings to the West India Company. 

The most successful of the settlements started 
under the patroon ship charter has been the colony on 



28 



The Dutch in New Netherland 



Settlement in 
Reusselaerwyk 



Wouter van 
Twiller, second 
Governor, and 
arrival of the 
first garrison 



the upper Hudson by Kiliaan van Rensselaer, an 
Amsterdam jeweler and member of the Chamber of 
Amsterdam. From the Mohawks he purchased a plot 
of land now represented by Albany and Rensselaer 
counties, which settlement was called Rensselaerw^^k 
and to which he brought several families from the 
town of Nykerk, the place of his birth. 

It did not take long before disputes arose between 
the patroons and the Company, both sides claiming 
that the contracts were not lived up to, and an indi- 
rect result of these difficulties was the recall of Pieter 
Minuit who left for Holland in March, 1632, in the 
good ship ' * Eendragt. " 

His successor was Wouter van Twiller, a clerk in 
the Company's office and a nephew of Kiliaan van 
Rensselaer, through whose influence he seems to 
have obtained his appointment. 

He arrived in April 1633 on the ship ' ' Zoutberg, ' ' 
accompanied by Domine Kverardus Bogardus, the 
first clergyman, and Adam Roelandzoon, the first 
schoolmaster, who came to New Netherland. There 
also came over with him 104 soldiers, the first garri- 
son to take up its abode in New Netherland. 

Van Twiller, in later years, has often been made 
the subject of caricaturists, who have either wilfully 
misrepresented him or who erred through lack of 
knowledge of the real facts. In the first place he is 
usually pictured as a large, fat man of advanced age 
in which case he is substituted for his father, one of 
the Directors of the Company, as he was a young man 
of 27 years when he was sent over as Director-Gen- 
eral of the colony. 

His lack of decision in many cases has given him 
the name of "De Twyfelaar," or "Doubter," but this 



a7id The United States 



29 



hesitan-cy should not be blamed upon him personally, 
but on the peculiar conditions which existed during 
his rule. In other instances, where his course was 
clear, he certainly showed a good deal of activity, 
courage and chivalry. 

At the time of his arrival the war with Spain was 
still raging, and the new Governor received instruc- 
tions from the States-General not to begin hostilities 
with his English neighbors under any circumstances, 
as Holland at that moment could hardly afford to be 
entangled in a war with still another country. Never- 
theless there were sufficient grounds for a call to 
arms, on account of the utter disregard by the Eng- 
lish on the Connecticut river of the Dutch territorial 
rights, but bound hand and foot by instructions from 
home, van Twiller could only resort to a game of 
bluff ; if this did not have the desired result, he could 
not back up his demands by force of arms. 



There seems to be no doubt, however, that van 
Twiller was somebody of an over-convivial character 
and at the many gatherings with his comrades, v/as 
wont to imbibe rather freely, which could hardly in- 
crease his prestige amongst the burghers and their 
wives. He has also been accused of not being averse 
to peculation and to have made use of his exalted 
position to obtain many lands, while it also may be 
added that, though the Government farms hardly 
paid expenses, his private bouweries yielded him 
large revenues yearly. 

One of his first acquisitions was "Nooten Eiland" 
or Nut Island, called Pagganck by the Indians, which Ons^o of 
he obtained from the aborigines in exchange for some \s\zxi^ 
axe-heads, a string of beads and a few nails. After 



30 



The Dutch in New Netherland 



this purchase the island's name was changed to 
Governor's Island, which name it has retained until 
the present time. 

The main difficult}- with which van Tv/iller had to 
contend was the aggressiveness of the English, who, by 
virtue of the charter of the Council of New England, 
did not recognize the territorial rights of the Dutch. 
A few days after his arrival, Jacob Eelkins, formerly 
in the service of Amsterdam merchants, during which 
period he had built Fort Nassau (now Alban}'), but 
who had since entered the service of Clobery & Co., a 
L/ondon firm, entered the river in command of an 
English ship, named "William." Van Twill er order- 
ed him to come ashore and asked him what the obj ect 
of his visit was, to which Eelkins replied that he was 
on English territor}- and came to trade with the 
Indians. Notwithstanding the counter arguments of 
van Twiller, nothing seems to have been done and 
Eelkins, after two days delay, quietly sailed up the 
river, van Twiller apparently being at a loss what to 
do under the circumstances in connection with the 
instructions from home. After a few days, however, 
persuaded by Captain de Vries, who had been in com- 
mand of the ruined colony at Swaanendael, it was 
decided to send a pinnace and a caravel with part of 
the troops after Eelkins, whom they overtook near 
Fort Orange. He had already collected a large 
quantity of furs, which were confiscated, and the ship 
was escorted down the bay to start the homeward trip 
without cargo, saving ballast. 

Other troubles faced van Twiller on the Connecticut 
river, where, in 1632, large tracts of land had been 
purchased from the Indians and where, on the present 
site of Hartford, Fort "De Goede Hoop" had been 
erected. Van T^dller appointed as commander of the 



and The United States 31 

new fort his former playmate, Jacobus van Corlaer, 
who also came from Nj^kerk, while Hans Janse Ken- 
cluys was put in charge of the two cannon which 
had been placed on the fort. At the mouth of the 
river they nailed to a large tree the arms of the States- 
General, which place was called Kieviet's Hoek. 

The English people of the Plymouth colony, how- 
ever, hardly relished these proceedings and in order 
to show that they did not recognize the claims of the 
Dutch, in 1635, the younger John Winthrop, acting 
under orders, pulled down the arms of Holland at 
Kievit's Hoek and erected a fort which he called 
Say brook. When van Twiller learned of this, he 
sent a sloop from New Amsterdam with soldiers tore- 
gain possession, but, as the commander of this sloop 
found the fort armed with two cannon, which would 
necessitate a rather vigorous fight, they returned to 
the town, mindful of the instructions from home to 
avoid war at any cost. 

In the year before. Lieutenant William Holmes had 
sailed up the river to take possession of some lands 
which had been purchased from the Mohegan Indians. 
As they passed fort "De Goede Hoop," the com- 
mander summoned them to return, as, otherwise 
they would be fired upon. Holmes replied that he 
was acting under orders of the Governor of Plymouth 
and would go on, volley or no volley, and the Dutch 
again had to pocket their pride and let him pass. 
Holmes thereupon proceeded to Windsor where he built 
a house with a strong stockade around it. Later van 
Twiller sent a force of 70 men to drive the Knglish 
from their stronghold but as such evacuation could 
only be obtained by a vigorous fight, and not by par- 
liamentary negotiations, they had to return to New 
Amsterdam without having accomplished anything. 



32 



The Dutch hi New Netherland 



Governor 
Kieft and the 
Indian wars 



It can be fully realized how irritating these pro- 
hibitive instructions were for a young man like 
Wouter van Twiller, and to do him justice, it should 
be said that in cases where there was no question of 
the rights, as between Dutch and English, he proved 
to be of the right mettle, and not afraid to have re- 
course to force of arms. 

Witness his proceedings in reference to the Indians, 
whom he held to a strict accounting for any misdeeds 
they committed, regardless of whether the victim was 
English or Dutch, and by keeping order amongst the 
aborigines in this territory, he certainly strengthened 
the Dutch territorial rights. 

Though the colony had prospered greatly under the 
rule of van Twiller, during which time a second 
church was built in New Amsterdam and a large 
number of wnndmills were erected on Manhattan, he 
was not without enemies, and the end of his reign was 
drawing near. Domine Bogardus denounced him to 
the States-General for peculation and for favoring his 
uncle's colony at Rensselaerwyk; this resulted in his 
dismissal from oi^ce while the Company was investi- 
gating the charges made against him. 

As his successor was appointed Willem Kieft, and if 
ever a bad choice was made by a company ha^^ng 
charge of such large territory, it was made in this 
case. It is hard to understand why the Directors of 
the West India Company selected him, as it appears 
that there were many rumors about his former life, 
and it may be fairly deduced that his antecedents 
were not properly investigated, but that his promises 
of enforcing reforms won him the appointment. 

Kieft seems to have been a man without sagacity or 
diplomacy, which qualities were of the utmost necess- 



and The United States 33 

ity in a country populated by so many Indian tribes, 
all having their differences and grievances. 

Moreover, through a more liberal way of encourag- 
ing emigration, since 1638, Huguenots, English and 
other settlers had begun to arrive in the colony, and 
these different units likewise had to be kept at peace 
wath each other. It had been decided that foreigners 
should have the same rights as Hollanders and that 
all monopolies should be abandoned. Emigration 
was further encouraged by free transportation to New 
Netherland of intending settlers with their families, 
who then received free of charge farms, cattle and 
implements, for which they had to pay, for 6 years, 
an annual rental of about |200; while further pro- 
visions were made for loans of money, and for the 
supply of necessaries on credit. 

Kieft arrived in March, 1638, on the ship "Haring" 
and at once took a strong hold of the affairs of Gov- 
ernment. As his councillor he appointed Jean La 
Montague, a Huguenot physician, and between them 
they constituted the whole Government, I/a Montague 
having one vote and Kieft two. 

Kieft' s administration was one of proclamations, 
entirely ignoring the wishes of the population. No 
trading was allowed without a license, capital punish- 
ment was instituted, sailors were not allowed to s\z.y 
on shore after sundown without special permission, 
and so forth. 

One of his first acts was to build a brewery, the 
first in the United States, while he also erected a 
hotel at the corner of Pearl Street and Coenties Slip, 
which became later the Stadthuys or City Hall. 

The same iron hand with which Kieft started out to 
rule the burghers of New Amsterdam, he meant to be 



34 The Dutch in New Netherlarid 

felt by the Indians of the neighboring territories, and 
it is this rule by force, without diplomacy or wisdom, 
which was the cause of the many bloody massacres and 
the almost total devastation of New Netherland dur- 
ing his administration. 

It appears that some pigs were stolen from a settler 
in Staten Island by one of the Company's servants, 
but it was claimed that the theft had been committed 
by some of the Raritan Indians, who lived twenty 
miles inland. Without proper investigation, Kieft, 
in order to punish them, sent a company of soldiers 
who killed several, burned their houses and destroyed 
their crops. The Raritans revenged themselves by 
massacring a settlement in Staten Island; which Kieft 
met by offering a premium for every Raritan 's head. 

At the same time a wheelwright of Manhattan, 
Claes Smit, had been murdered by a Weckquaesgeck 
Indian of Yonkers, in settlement of an old score, and 
the sachem of his tribe refused to give up the mur- 
derer. In order to be able to insist upon the giving 
up of the culprit, which might mean war, it would be 
necessary to put the town in a state of defense and re- 
pair the fort. In order to raise the revenue to cover 
the cost of these repairs, Kieft laid a tax on the river 
Indians, which act greatly incensed the whole Dutch 
population, as this was contrary to all the precedents 
and principles of the Dutch, always ardent defenders 
of the maxim "no taxation without representation." 

A similar event happened in Hackensack, where a 
settler was shot and killed by a drunken Indian. The 
chiefs of the murderer's tribe offered to pay 800 
fathoms of wampum, or bead money, to the victim's 
widow, in atonement for the deed, but claimed that 
they could not deliver the murderer as he had fled to 
the Haverstraw Indians. 



Bronk's 



and The United States 35 

A few months later a party of Mohawks, armed with 
Muskets, came down the river to gather tribute from 
the river tribes who, greatl}' alarmed, sought refuge treaty 
in Pavonia and Manhattan. This seemed to Kieft an 
exceptional opportunity to settle his grievances and in 
the middle of the night he sent down his soldiers, 
who massacred 120 Indians, bringing in the heads of 
their victims as trophies of war. This resulted in a 
general warfare, with continuous murder and retalia- 
tion on both sides. After a while, however, the 
Indians as well as the Dutch began to understand that 
the carrying on of a war is a costl}' affair. Both sides 
began to get tired of the controversy and at last a 
treaty of peace was signed at the home of Jonas Bronk, 
in the present Borough of the Bronx. 

Notwithstanding this treaty it was found that the 
peacemaking was premature, and hostilities began a- 
new, until a force of 150 Dutch soldiers, under com- 
mand of Captain James Underbill, an exile from 
Boston, defeated the Algonquins near Stamford on a 
clear winter night, leaving 700 dead Indians on the 
field. Ere long the tribes on I^ong Island and West- 
chester sued for peace, which finally ended the war. 

The greatest burden of these wars naturally fell on 
the people, who had to pa}^ taxes to meet expenses, 
and great dissatisfaction was felt with the rule 
of Kieft. In the meantime a council of eight men had 
been chosen, as Kieft found it was impossible to pro- 
ceed altogether without consulting the representa- 
tives of the people. Six months after the war these 
eight men addressed a letter to the States General 
explaining how the country had been devastated and 
asking the recall of Kieft, charging him with the 
responsibility of causing the war, Melyn and Kuyter, 



36 



The Dutch in New Netherland 



members of this council, taking the initiative in the 
accusation against Kieft. 

After this letter reached Holland, the Company de- 
cided to relieve Kieft of the administration of the 
Colony and appointed in his place Pieter Stuyvesant, 
formerly Governor of Curasao. 

If anybody could be expected to regain the con- 
fidence of the people and to be received with the re- 
spect due to an officer of such high rank, it would be 
Stuyvesant, who had a long, honorable, military career 
behind him, and who carried the proof of being a 
brave soldier around with him in the form of a wooden 
leg, having lost the natural one in one of the West 
Indian wars. 

No matter how much respect a military Governor 
may command, or how true a servant of his superiors 
he may be, as a civil administrator he often proves a 
failure if he does not alter his tactics, and Stuyvesant 
was no exception. The colonists of New Amsterdam 
were free-born burghers, not soldiers who could be 
ridden over roughshod. 

In the fatherland they had been brought up with a 
firm belief in representative government and this be- 
lief had not left them when setting forth to the New 
World, as subsequent events will show. 

Stuyvesant arrived in New Amsterdam on May 24th 
and was ceremoniously welcomed by the population. 
With him came his wife, who was accompanied to the 
colony by her sister, Mrs. Bayard and her three 
children. 

On his arrival he found the fort in a deplorable 
state. Cows grazed on the grass}' slopes and trampled 
down the walls, while hogs rooted under the palisa- 
does of the stockade. At once he began levying 



and The United States 



37 



taxes to repair and rebuild the stronghold, placing a 
new excise on spirits and wines, and increasing the 
export duty on furs, in order to meet the expenses. 

At the outset this caused trouble with the council, 
who claimed that the company should pay for the 
defences itself, but should not levy taxes from the 
burghers for this purpose. As in the days of Kieft, 
proclamation followed proclamation and the people 
began to ask themselves if they were so much better 
off than under the rule of the former Governor. One 
of the leaders of the opposition was Adriaan van der 
Donck, who incurred the disfavor of Stuj^esant to 
such an extent that the Governor threw him into 
prison. 

It would lead us too far to relate in detail all the 
squabbles between Stuyvesant and the council, but 
suffice to say that they resulted at last in the sending 
of the famous ' * Vertoogh ' ' or demonstration to the 
States-General ; this was written by Adriaan van der 
Donck, who, in the meantime had been released from 
prison, on the return of Melyn and Kuyter. Van 
der Donck, with two others chosen from the foremost 
burghers, was sent to Holland to present this docu- 
ment to their High Mightinesses at the Hague, and 
pleaded so well, that in 1635 New Amsterdam was in- 
corporated as a city with a free municipal government, 
consisting of a schout, two burgomasters, and five 
schepens. At this moment the city could boast of a 
population of about 800 souls. 

One of the main grievances against Stuyvesant was 
his intolerance in all matters pertaining to religion, 
forbidding the erection of any churches except Cal- 
vinistic Dutch Reformed, and in many cases cruelly 
persecuting people belonging to any other faith. It 



Religious 
Intolerance 
of the 
Governor 



38 



The Dutch in Nezv Netherland 



The patroons 
and the 
Governor 



seems strange that a man like Stuyvesant should have 
shown such intolerance, coming, as he did, from a 
country whose people had fought for years for relig- 
ious freedom and where no restrictions existed re- 
garding worship according to individual belief. It. 
should further be mentioned that since the West 
India Company had offered more liberal terms to in- 
tending emigrants, quite an influx of foreign emi- 
grants had begun, of people who fled from religious 
persecution in their own country. There were Swed- 
ish and German Lutherans, Baptists from Rhode 
Island and Quakers from Boston ; while in 1654 the 
first Jews, 23 in number, arrived in New Amsterdam, 
having fled from Brazil after its recapture by the 
Portuguese. 

Public sentiment revolted against the persecution 
of these people, who had expected to find in New 
Netherland a haven of refuge, and when remonstran- 
ces were made to the States-General, they found 
sympathetic listeners, as it also was against the wishes 
of the people in the fatherland. The Governor re- 
ceived a rebuke, and this seems to have ended the 
controversy. 

It will be necessary to leave this city for a while 
and proceed up the Hudson to the colony of Rens- 
selaerwyk, established by Kiliaan van Rensselaer, 
This colony had prospered more than any other in 
New Netherland, and with prosperity came a certain 
overbearance on the part of the patroons. They had 
always refused to acknowledge the authority of the 
Governor at New Amsterdam, claiming that they had 
received their grants from the States-General direct, 
and not from the Company. Emboldened by the 
ease with which they could resist the Governor, they 
even proceeded beyond the limits of the original grant 



and The U^iited States 39 

and seized an island in the Hudson on which van 
Rensselaer erected a fortress. This happened during 
the reign of van Twiller, who wrote him asking by 
what right he had seized the island. The answer was 
''By wapen regV ( by the right of arms ) and this 
seems to have settled the question. It was discovered 
that many furs had been bought in his dominion by 
private traders, thus depriving him of the profits of 
this trafi&c, which induced him to invest this for- 
tress, called Rensselaerstyn, with another right, 
namely the ' 'staple right, ' ' levying tribute from every 
passing vessel. One day when Govert Ivoockermans 
passed the fortress in his yacht "De Goede Hoop," a 
shot was fired from the fort and he was ordered to 
strike his flag. When asked for whom, the watch- 
master Koorn of the fort replied ' ' Voor Heer Kiliaan 
en het stapelreo;t van Rensselaerstyn " (for Lord 
Kilian and the staple right of Rensselaerstyn), upon 
which Ivoockermans replied that he would not strike 
the flag for anybody but the Prince of Orange and 
their High Mightinesses the States-General, upon 
which three shots were fired, damaging the ship. 
For this act Koorn was summoned to New Amster- 
dam and punished. 

Sundry similar acts and the sale of firearms to the 
Indians, which was forbidden on Manhattan, caused 
many wordy wars between Stuyvesant and the pat- 
roons, until at last the matter was laid before the 
States-General, which resulted in the curtailing of the 
powers of the lordly masters of Rensselaerstyn. 
Another important event during Stuyvesant 's admin- 
istration was the capture and annexation of the 
Swedish settlements on the Delaware river. 

"William Usselinx, an Antwerp merchant who had 
done much to promote the founding of the West 



40 



The Dutch in New Netherland 



India Company, afterwards approached King Gustavus 
Adolplius of vSweden with similar proposals, leading 
to the formation of the South Company, which sent 
out ships with emigrants and implements to the Dela- 
ware river, where on the South shore, under leader- 
ship of Pieter Minuit, who, in the meantime, had 
entered the service of Sweden, they built fort Christina, 
followed later by a settlement under John Printz on 
Tinicum island, about 12 miles south of Philadelphia, 
called New Gottenberg. Also some English from 
New Haven tried to settle in that section, on Salem 
creek, but they were promptly deported by the Dutch 
and sent back to New Haven. 

Though the Dutch were far from pleased with this 
invasion of the Swedes in their territory, their strong- 
holds in this section were not powerful enough to 
resist by force or arms, as their only fortress was a 
fort called Nassau, on the Delaware, and afterwards a 
stockade on the present site of Philadelphia, erected 
by Andries Hudde and named Beversvrede, the total 
garrison of both fortifications being six men. The 
same reason which kept the Dutch from opposing the 
English by the force of arms in the occupation of their 
territory, withheld them from ousting the Swedes, as 
the States-General did not wish to run the risk of 
getting into war with another power as long as they 
were still fighting Spain. 

In 1651 however, Stuj^vesant had straightened out 
other matters, so that he could devote more time to 
the invaders in the south. Moreover, the treaty of 
Miinster had been signed, while the Swedes were in 
the midst of their war with Poland, so that no better 
opportunity could be expected. He therefore made a 
call for volunteers in New Amsterdam and succeeded 
in forming an army of about 700, which was more than 



and The United States 41 

sufficient to overpower the Swedish colony, the whole 
population of VN'hich did not consist of more than 500 
all told. With this force he sailed for the Delaware, 
where he demanded surrender of both fortresses, 
which was promptly acquiesced by Prince, without a 
drop of blood being shed. Thus ended the power of 
Sweden in the new world, the colonists mostly pre- 
ferring to stay under the Dutch rule instead of repatri- 
ating, the choice given them by Stuyvesant. 

While Stuyvesant was busy settling matters on the 
Delaware, reports reached him of a renewed outbreak 
amongst the Indians and he had to hurry north. As 
usual the cause had to be found in the unjustified 
killing of an Indian by a white man, and in a few days 
about 350 colonists had been wantonly slain. The 
fortifications were repaired and under the able leader- 
ship of Stuyvesant peace was soon restored, but at the 
cost of a renewed disgust on the part of the people 
with the Company who failed to protect them in time 
of danger. 

As we have seen before, the income of the West 
India Company originated mainly from the capture of 
Spanish fleets, as development of peaceful trading 
and colonizing was a branch of industry which was 
hardly considered worthy of its attention. Since the 
war with Spain had ended, this source of revenue had 
dried up, while in 1651 a further blow was struck at 
the prosperity of this corporation by the navigation 
act, which stipulated that all goods which came on the 
English markets, should be brought in English ships. 
These two causes had impoverished the Company so 
much, that when, in 1664, rumors were abroad that 
an English fleet had been despatched with the intent 
of capturing New Netherland, and Stuyvesant asked 
for ships and reinforcements, the Company was not 



Fall of New 
Netherland 



42 The Dutch iji New Nether la?id 

able to give them, as it was then tottering on the 
verge of bankruptcy. 

According to the views of King Charles II. of Eng- 
land, New Netherland belonged to England already, 
and he therefore felt himself justified in granting 
these lands to his brother, the Duke of York and 
Albany, simply ignoring the doctrine of Queen Eliza- 
beth. In order to expel the trespassers, a fleet of four 
vessels was equipped, while the States-General in 
Holland were hoodwinked by the claim that this fleet 
was sent to enforce Episcopacy upon the New England 
Colonies. The fleet really did sail to Boston, under 
command of Colonel Richards Nicolls, already ap- 
pointed Governor of the colony to be seized. From 
there it .sailed to New Amsterdam, and on Saturday, 
August the 30th, 1664, came up the bay and demanded 
surrender of the city. It was found that Nicolls had 
omitted to sign the paper containing this demand, and 
it was sent back for his signature, which gave Stuyve- 
sant an opportunity to consult wnth the burgomasters 
and schepens. The governor did not wish to surren- 
der, but as the city was in no condition to offer 
any resistance and the attacking force more than 
overwhelming, the burgomasters and schepens w^ould 
not listen to such proposals, as they would only cause 
unnecessary bloodshed and could not change the final 
outcome. Moreover, they were not sorry to bid fare- 
well to a ruler like the West India Company who had 
failed to protect them in time of danger, had levied 
heavy taxes and had trampled on their ideals of 
representative government; but, on the contrary, had 
burdened them with harsh administrators who had 
ruled them in an arbitrary way, and through mis- 
management had been instrumental in causing them 
to lose what they had gathered through years of weary 



and The United States 



43 



toil. Capitulation was therefore decided upon, and 
on Tuesday morning Nicolls stepped ashore and took 
over the reins of government. 

Before bidding farewell to Stuj^vesant and his rule, 
for the sake of completeness, we might mention the 
name of Anton van Korlaer, a trumpeter of the 
garrison, and, according to the popular version, his 
right-hand man Friday; authentic history does not 
reveal anything remarkable about him, so that the 
glory of this name may be granted to be due to the 
need of story writers of later date of material to work 
upon. It is claimed that when Stuyvesant found 
little support for his plans of resistance amongst the 
burghers in New Amsterdam, he despatched van 
Korlaer to summon the colonists along the Hudson 
to the rescue. It happened to be very stormy weather, 
and when he came to the Harlem river, no boatman 
could be found to ferry him across, as the attempt to 
do so was considered foolhardy. Van Korlaer was 
not to be thwarted by the elements in his determina- 
tion to reach the other side, and swore that he would 
get across ''In spyt va7i den duiveV (in spite of the 
devil). He thereupon endeavored to swim across, but 
was drowned in the attempt, and since that day the 
scene of this occurrence is called "Spuyten Duyvel." 

After the capitulation and the landing of Nicolls, 
the banner of St. George was run up to take the place 
of the tricolor of the Republic, and it may well be 
asked why no efforts were made by the States-General 
to retake the colony; but apparently other matters of 
weightier importance prevented them from taking 
drastic measures, as soon afterwards we see the 
Republic at war with England, with whom it had been 
on such friendly footing for so many years. 



Anton van 
Korlaer and 
Spuyten 
Duyvel 



44 



The Dtdch in New Netherlayid 



Recapture by 
the Dutch 



New 

Netherland 
exchanged for 
Surinam 



New Amsterdam was rechristened New York and 
the fort named Fort James, which it retained for nine 
years, i. e.: until 1673 when the Dutch were engaged 
in their third war with England. 

At last it seemed that a fleet could be spared to 
attend to matters in the New World and in July of 
that year a Dutch fleet of five vessels, under command 
of Commodore Cornelis Evertsen, Jr., sailed up the 
bay and demanded surrender. 

If the Dutch should be taken to task for having 
their defenses in such a deplorable condition that no 
resistance could be offered when a European enemy 
threatened them under the rule of Stuyvesant, the 
same can be said of the English on this occasion, and 
after an attempt at delay by negotiation, the city 
surrendered and once more the flag of Holland floated 
over this offspring of the land of dykes and water. 

The second occupation, however, lasted only for 
a short while, as the next year a treaty of peace 
between the two powers was signed at Westminster, 
by which it was agreed that New Netherland would be 
given back to England in exchange for the Surinam 
Colony in South America. At the present day it seems 
rather odd that at that time it was conceded by the 
English that in granting this exchange, the Dutch got 
the best of the bargain, but then again it should be 
remembered that in those times possessions in the 
tropical belt were valued much higher than those of a 
northern climate. And after all, considering that the 
English have been ousted for more than a century 
from these, their erstwhile provinces, and that 
Surinam even at the present day is still a Dutch 
possession, it may be that the Dutch did get the better 
half of the bargain after all. 



a7id The United States 



45 



Curiously enough, by the way, Surinam, which is 
called by Knglish speaking people Dutch Guiana, 
takes its name from the Earl of Surrey after whom it 
was named Surreyham, and which was afterwards 
changed by the Dutch to its present form. 

After having seen the Dutch flag hauled down for 
good in the northern part of the western hemisphere, 
let us analyze the people who raised it here and who 
had to live on in this country under new conditions. 

It has often been claimed that representative 
government of the people in the western hemisphere, 
is not of Dutch origin, as some of the English colonies 
had local government long before a city charter was 
granted to New Amsterdam. This cannot be denied, 
but at the same time it should be conceded that this 
was not due to a lack of clamor for such government 
on the part of the people, as has been seen in the 
preceding pages, and which was the cause of 
continuous disputes between the burghers and the 
Governors. Moreover, conditions in the other colonies 
were different. No greedy corporations held sway, 
and the fatherland was not engaged in a long lasting 
war with a mighty power, which required the full 
attention of the Government at home, while the Dutch 
at that time were, as they are to-day, a law-abiding 
people, who would not easily endeavor to obtain by 
revolt against the acknovdedged authorities what they 
could not gain by patient and persistent remonstration. 
They could also hardly afford to sever themselves 
from the Government to which they looked for protec- 
tion in time of danger, surrounded as they were by 
savages who outnumbered them a thousand fold. 

They were, however, not lacking in ideals of poli- 
tical and religious freedom such as they had learned 



The Dutch and 
English people 
and repre- 
sentative 
Government 



46 



The D2itch in New Netherland 



Religious 
Freedom and 
Public Schools 



at home and which they transplanted to American soil. 
Even if they had a long struggle before they obtained 
that freedom for which they clamored, it should be 
noted that this struggle never ceased, and when at 
last the time came that these ideals won the field, the 
experience in popular government on a larger scale 
than the administration of local communities, which 
the Dutch had gained in their fatherland, was of 
great importance in forming the first confederacy in 
later years. 

In other matters, which are now the fundamental 
principles of our great republic, the Dutch were far 
ahead of their English neighbors. Religious freedom 
was an acknowledged right, and, in those days, a 
factor of no mean importance, and we have seen how 
Stuyvesant incurred the general disapproval when he 
tried to meddle with this principle. Public education 
stood on a far higher level than anywhere else in the 
world, and no distinction was made between boys and 
girls, both going to the same schools and receiving 
the same education, being the same principle which 
is adhered to in the present American public school 
system. In other countries this was as yet something 
unheard of, and the schooling which the girls received 
was generally of a ver}' limited character. The 
schooling of the children w^as considered a duty of the 
State, and it created a great deal of dissatisfaction and 
hostility when, under English rule, this item was 
taken off the list of public charges. The result was 
that this matter was taken in hand by the Dutch 
churches and, as we can see to-day in Canada how 
instrumental church education is in retaining the old 
national tongue and customs, it ^^-ill readily be seen 
how this drastic measure of the English aided to keep 
the Dutch together as one unit in an English colony. 



and The U7iited States 



47 



Owing to the greater freedom of speech and the 
written word in the Dutch RepubHc, printing presses 
had plenty of work and, as a result, books were cheap. 
They were obtainable for everybody and led to a 
broader education and more liberal ideas. Such oc- 
currences as burning of T\dtches would have been 
impossible in New Netherland, as the people were too 
well read and too enlightened to make such things 
possible. 



In those days, when newspapers w^ere not yet in 
existence, political events were considered fitting 
material for sermons from the pulpit and usually, to 
be a Domine or preacher, meant to be a harsh critic of 
the Government. Especially Domine Bogardus was 
an ardent agitator, and when the good burghers pre- 
pared themselves on Sunday for divine service, they 
could be assured that they would not have to complain 
about the dulness of the sermon, which goes to show 
that New York of to-day is not so very different from 
New Amsterdam after all, as every New Yorker vvdll 
admit. 

They were plain and truly democratic people that 
came to these shores in those days. The long struggle 
against the common foe in the time of the reformation 
had levelled caste prejudice, and nobleman and 
peasant had fought side by side against the Spanish 
oppressors. No royal court, wdth retinue of lordly 
followers, was known in Holland, and the foremost 
men of the republic were those who had distinguished 
themselves by valor, strateg>^, diplomacy or superior 
knowledge. All were alike and equal, and it was only 
during the English period that an aristocracy was 
formed out of the followers belonging to the Govern- 
or's retinue. 



The Church 
and the Dutch 
Domiues 



The Democra- 
tic Dutch 



48 The Dutch in New Netherlayid 

It is difficult to imagine that such people should 
consist mainly of big, stout, lazy fellows, spending the 
day in smoking tobacco out of long churchwardens 
and filling in the rest of the time in drinking gin, as 
some of the caricaturists of later day so fondly picture 
them, especially when it is remembered that the 
smoking of tobacco was not in common usage in Hol- 
land in those days, but was adopted from the Con- 
necticut Knglish. 

Referring to domestic life, we might also cite the 
Troubles of the difficulties of the housewdves in obtaining suitable 
housewives help. In the early days every woman was, as a matter 

of course, her own cook and had to attend to every- 
thing herself. 

As prosperity came and work in the house and on 
the farm multiplied, help had to be found, and as this 
could not be obtained in the colony, girls had to be 
sent from Holland. There were a great many single 
young men in the colony, who left the fatherland 
attracted by the possibility of an adventurous life, and 
who were eager suitors for the hand of the maidens 
from home. The result was that the housewives did 
not remain long in possession of the newly acquired 
domestic treasures and as these usually came out 
under some kind of a contract, the passage money 
ha\4ng been paid for by her mistress, many w^ere the 
cases of breach of contract which were brought before 
the magistrate for his learned decision, and apparently 
they were usually decided in favor of the wooing 
swain. 

By and by it became possible to train the Indians to 
do housework, which helped a little, and afterwards 
these were supplemented by the negro slaves, which 
the West India Company began to import into the 



and The United States 



49 



colon}^ though very much against the \\411 of the 
burghers. 

Before passing on to the next chapter of the 
history of the Dutch in America, it should be 
mentioned that Stuyvesant, after a short stay in 
Holland, in order to justify and explain his conduct 
in connection with his surrender of the city, returned 
to New York, where he retired to his farm on the 
Bowery, then far outside the city, living there until 
his death in 1672, at eighty years of age. He was 
buried in St. Mark's church and a tablet in the wall 
in this building announces this fact to visitors. 

After the English had taken possession of this 
colony, and the people had at last got rid of the 
hated West India Company, the Dutch soon learned 
that their cherished hopes of a more liberal and repre- 
sentative government were to be disappointed. The 
promises which had been made were not kept, and 
though it is impracticable within the limits of this 
booklet, to relate in detail all the controversies which 
arose, it may be said that the struggle was never 
given up and when at last the Revolutionary War 
broke out, which was to free the American colonies for- 
ever from the yoke of European denomination, the 
people of this province had been well prepared to take 
their share of the struggle, through this never ending 
fight for their natural rights. 

This does not mean , however, that the people did 
not have their temporary successes, as shown by the 
fact that in 1683, during the rule of Charles II. and 
under Governor Dongan, a charter was enacted in- 
suring the rights of the people by means of a perma- 
nent popular representative assembly. 



The remaining 
years of 
Stuy\'esant 



The Dutch 
under English 
rule 



50 The Dutch in New Netherland 

Charles II. died, however, before he had signed the 
document, and his successor the Duke of York and 
Albany, refused to complete the work begun by his 
brother, and sent secret instructions that the charter 
should be forthwith repealed. 

It should be mentioned that it was in this charter 
that, for the first time in any such document, the ex- 
pression, '''The People"" was used, which, in the later 
days, was to become a term of such sovereign meaning. 

It was under the rule of King James II. under 
which name the Duke of York and Albany ascended 
the throne of England, that the rights of the people 
were ignored in the most arbitrary manner. Not- 
withstanding all grants and charters. King James 
united New England and New York in one province, 
appointing as Governor of the new territory Governor 
Andros of Boston and recalling Dongan, who, though 
an Irish Catholic, was esteemed by Protestants and 
Catholics alike. Under Governor Andros a law was 
passed forbidding the bolting of meal in any place in 
the province except New York, which naturally great- 
ly irritated the rural population and the inhabitants 
of the inland towns. 

History tells us that the Englishmen at home did 

^,. ^ ^^ not fare better than the colonists in America regarding 

King James II o <=> 

dethroned infringement of their rights; oppression in England led 

to the revolt against King James, who fled from his 
country in December 1688, and the invitation to Will- 
iam III. of Orange to take up the reins of Government. 

After William III. had been proclaimed king of Eng- 
land, Governor Andros was taken prisoner by the 
people of Boston, where a Committee of Safety was 
organized to take charge of public affairs. 



a7id The Uiiited States 



51 



The province was consequently left without a direct 
representative of the reigning sovereign, while the 
royal governor of New York, Nicholson, had fled, and 
the remaining oS5cials were all appointees and agents 
of the King who had been overthrown. 

Something had to be done to safe-guard public order 
and to protect private property; and, as in Boston, a 
Committee of Safety was organized which selected 
Jacob L/eisler to be commander of the fort. 

Jacob Leisler was the son of an exiled French Hugue- 
not minister, who had fled to Frankfort in Ger- 
many, where Jacob was born. Originally he enlisted 
as a soldier in the service of the Dutch West India 
Company, and rapidly rose to higher rank, came 
afterwards to New Netherland, where he prospered 
and at the time of this episode, was a merchant and 
a judge. 

As the representatives of the new King did not ap- 
pear as soon as expected, Ivcisler was elected Gover- 
nor of the province, and was assisted in the task of 
governing by a council chosen by the community. 
Exceptional circumstances necessitate exceptional 
measures, and though the placing in power of I^eisler 
was done without consultation wifh the Government 
at home, for which there was no opportunity, (and 
the absence of which opportunity was in fact the 
reason why this power was conferred upon him) his 
assumption of the office seemed the wisest course pos- 
sible under the circumstances, and as he took up the 
reins of government by the wish of his fellow citizens, 
he can hardly be accused of usurpation of power. It 
is therefore rather remarkable that the Dutch Church, 
which had always been on the side of the people, in 
this case sided with the royalists, the dismissed digni- 



The Jacob 

I,eisler 

episode 



52 The Dtttch in New Netherland 

taries of King James; and that the Domines de- 
nounced Ivcisler from the pulpit as a rebel and a 
usurper. 

Undoubtedly this was due to a great extent to the 
fact that the rich aristocracy, as represented by these 
dignitaries, had become a mighty factor in the Church 
and that the Domines were well aware that, sooner or 
later, this class would again be uppermost in the 
community. The plain people and the rural popula- 
tion however sided with the I^eisler party and were 
greatly embittered against their pastors, and this led 
to open acts of hostility, so that many of the clergy 
had to flee from the city, while one of them was 
thrown into prison. 

In the meantime the community was anxiously 
awaiting the agents of the new Government, but, as 
may be expected after the overthrow of a ruler, so 
many matters had to be attended to at once, that the 
affairs of the far-off colonies could not be taken in 
hand immediately. At last Sloughter was appointed 
Governor ; he was shipwrecked in the Bermudas and 
sent on Captain Ingoldsby ahead of him, who, on his 
arrival at New York, demanded surrender of the fort, 
but as he came without credentials, his demand was 
naturall}^ refused. Three months later Sloughter 
arrived, and the administration was handed over to 
him ; whereupon Ivcisler, at the instigation of his 
enemies, was arrested on the charge of treason, and 
the same fate befell his son-in-law, Milborne. 

They were tried and condemned to be hanged, 

I,eisler and while their property was confiscated ; but Sloughter 

his son in-law before signing the sentence, wished to get the sanction 

executed ^^ ^y^^ King, so they were placed in prison awaiting 

the reply from England. Such delay, however, hardly 



and The United States 53 

suited the royalists, who arranged a banquet to which 
the Governor was invited. I^ater in the evening, 
after heated arguments and under the influence of 
strong drink, the death warrant was placed before 
him for his signature and he yielded. After this sig- 
nature had been obtained, the royalists were not slow 
in executing the sentence, and on the 16th of May 
L/eisler and Milborne were hanged and buried near 
the gallows, on the site of present Tribune Building, 
in Nassau Street. 

Afterwards Parliament legalized Leisler's action and 
Queen Anne repealed the confiscation of his and Mil- 
borne 's property, it being restored to their respective 
heirs. In 1698 the bodies were exhumed and buried 
in the Dutch Church in Garden street, now Exchange 
Place. 

It was about this time, in 1690, during the French 
and Indian wars, that the Dutch settlement in the Destruction of 
Mohawk valley, Schenectady, was burned, and the Schenectady 
majority of the inhabitants murdered. It is claimed 
that the name Schenectady is of Indian origin, but we 
cannot help thinking that the original Dutch name of 
the settlement, Schoon-Echtenbeek, may have some- 
thing to do with the later title. In 1689 Montreal had 
been destroyed by the Mohawks, the allies of the 
English and Dutch, leaving a score to be settled by 
the French. 

Though the settlement at Schenectady was sur- 
rounded by a palisade, provided with gates, j-ears of 
undisturbed peace had made the colonists careless, 
and at night the gates were usually left open. On a 
winter night the French swooped down upon the 
hamlet and killed 60 of the inhabitants, only about 25 
escaping, while the village was burned. Later, the 
place was rebuilt but for many years conditions in the 



54 The Dutch in New Nether land 

valley remained unsettled, until the taking of Canada 
by the English, and it was quite customary for the 
farmers to start for their work in the field armed with 
muskets. 

Though the famous pirate, Captain William Kidd, 
was not of Dutch descent, and has no connection with 
the story of the Dutch in America (nothwithstanding 
he married a Dutch lady) he has become such a hero 
of folklore, especially in the youthful mind, that in 
filling out our canvas we must not omit to mention 
him here. 

During the period of which we have spoken, piracy 
on the high seas had been of regular occurrence, and as 
the colonies did not have enough men-of-war to pro- 
tect shipping along the coast, it had become customary 
to provide private vessels with commissions as pri- 
vateersmen to pursue pirates. Such commission was 
granted by Governor Bellomont of New York to Captain 
William Kidd, but soon afterwards the news reached 
the Governor that the privateersman had turned pirate 
himself. This lasted for about two years, when Cap- 
tain Kidd had the audacity to appear with his ship in 
Boston Harbor, where he was seized and imprisoned. 
He appealed to Governor Bellomont, claiming that 
whatever he had done on the high seas, had been done 
on the strength of his commission as privateersman, 
and that certain English vessels, which had myster- 
iously disappeared, had not been molested by him. 
The action of Governor Bellomont in this matter gave 
rise to the rumor that he had shared part of the plunder 
and therefore endeavored to protect Captain Kidd, 
who afterwards confessed to some of his crimes, re- 
sulting in the discovery of some of his booty in 
Gardiner's Island in Long Island Sound. Captain 
Kidd was subsequently hanged, and it is claimed that 



aytd The United States 



55 



Mutual friend- 
ship of the 
Dutch and 
English people 



a large part of his plunder still lies buried in the sand 
along the Long Island coast, awaiting discovery by 
some lucky adventurer who may happen to strike the 
right spot. 

Although, during the term of existence of New 
Netherland, differences continually arose between its 
Governor and those of the neighboring English 
Colonies regarding territorial rights, the Dutch and 
English people had always been on a good footing 
with each other, and it is for this reason that in after 
years, under the English Governors, no distinctly 
Dutch party existed, as such, in opposition to the 
English factors. There was, however, the party of 
the People, clamoring for freedom and the right to be 
represented in the affairs of the Government, as op- 
posed to the royalists who sided with the agents of 
the Government across the water, and it was wnththe 
former party that the Dutch sided, with few excep- 
tions. 

There was, of course, the Dutch Church party, but 
this was a matter of religion, as they insisted on the 
right to worship in their own way, without the inter- 
ference of the Government, which tried to force the 
Episcopalian Church upon the colonies ; and in this 
opposition the Dutch sided with the English Puritans, 
not on account of intolerance towards the Episcopali- 
ans, to whom they bore no malice, but on account of 
the old principle that full freedom in matters of re- 
ligion should be allowed, to all the People without 
interference on the part of their Rulers. 

In relating the story of the Dutch in America, we 

should therefore have to fall back upon the narrative ^^^^j^^^J^e 

of the exploits of those individuals who, during the Revolutionary 

course of later events, especially shone out amongst war 



56 The D2itch in New Netherland 

their fellow citizens ; this would lead us a good deal 
further than space permits. It may be said, however, 
that during the Revolutionary war the Dutch of New 
York carried their share of the burden, and did their 
full duty by the community of which they formed a 
part. 

And if in the historical records we find afterwards 
only comparatively few Dutch names, it should not be 
forgotten, that, compared with the total population 
of the United Colonies at the outbreak of the war, the 
Dutch formed only a small percentage, owing to the 
cessation of emigration from Holland after the fall of 
New Netherland. The development of the East and 
West-Indian possessions, and the many wars in Eur- 
ope in which Holland engaged in after years, de- 
manded the services of so many of her sons, that few 
could be spared to add to the population of the colonies 
of a foreign power. 

When we read, however, auout the eager endeav- 
ors of the English authorities during the revolution to 
capture the Dutch Domines, it may be concluded that 
the Dutch Reformed Church, as under the rule of the 
West India Company, had remained a political factor, 
and that the followers of this faith were amongst the 
foremost fighters in the ranks of the Continental 
Army. We may further mention the name of General 
Schuyler as one of the prominent American leaders; 
he had already given proof of his valor in the war of 
the English against the French in Canada. There is 
further Simeon de Witt, who was geographer in the 
army and afterwards rose to the rank of staff officer of 
General Washington. Later, after the war was over, 
he became Surveyor-General of the State of New York. 

It w^as in these days of struggle that the new Com- 
monwealth received support from its elder-sister 



and The Ujtited States 



57 



republic in Europe — Holland, in December 1780, mak- 
ing a treaty whereby the Independence of the United 
States was acknowledged, leading to relations of re- 
ciprocal friendship. It was further agreed that if 
England should make war on Holland, the latter 
country and America should assist each other, and 
that no peace should be made without mutual consent, 
and this was soon followed by an open declaration of 
war with Holland by England, thus adding one more to 
her enemies who should harrash her on the high seas. 
A similar treaty had been made with France two 
years previous but it should be mentioned that at the 
time of the treaty with that country the outlook for 
the final success for America seemed favorable, while 
at the time of the alliance with Holland the Contin- 
ental Army had suffered many reverses. For years, 
the Dutch had been aiding the Revolutionists and most 
of their war supplies had been brought into the 
country by way of the Dutch West Indian Colonies. 
It was in these Colonies, at the island of St. Eusta- 
tius, on November the 16th, 1776, that the flag of the 
new Republic was first saluted by a Foreign Power. 

The support of the Dutch, however, w^as not confined 
to the making of a treaty; liberal sums of money were 
loaned to the new Republic, and when, in after years, 
these sums were repaid to a total of about $14,000,000, 
they were invested in lands in western New York and 
Pennsylvania, which were developed under the man- 
agement of the Holland I/and Company. 

After the w^ar was over and republican ideals, which 
brought with them religious freedom and public 
schools, had triumphed, the necessity of sticking to- 
gether as people of one race, with its own church, had 
vanished; this re-iulted in a gradual neglect of the 
mother-tongue and about in 1800 the Dutch language 



Support from 
Holland 



The Dutch 
lang-uage 
ceases to be 
spoken in 
America 



58 



The Dutch in New Netherland 



ceased to be spoken in the erstwhile Dutch com- 
munities, English having become the universal 
language. 

The only remnant of Dutch Institutions which still 
exists to-day is the Dutch Reformed Church of 
America, which, as an organization, had certainly 
flourished steadily enough during these centuries of 
the changing and confusing influx of foreign elements. 

In looking back upon past events, it is wdth feelings 
of regret that we note how our own proud city, and 
the capital of our state, have retained the names 
placed upon them through an outburst of royal vanity, 
names which have no historical meaning and which 
should have vanished with the cessation of the 
English rule. 

We cannot help feeling that the old names New 
Amsterdam and Rensselaerwyk (or Beverwyk as it was 
originally called) would have conveyed to posterity a 
more fitting memory of the past, and would have 
commemorated better than their present names, the 
pluck and courage of our ancestors. 



Our narrative has so far related the histor}^ of the 
early Dutch settlers and of their descendants, but after 
the recognition of the United States of America by 
Europe, these descendants, as well as those of the 
English, Swedish and other early settlers, became 
A^nericans, having no further connection with their 
fatherlands, so that we cannot class them any more 
as anything but Americans. 

In speaking therefore of the Dutch in America, in 
modern times, we have to refer to such Hollanders as 
emigrated to the United States since the establish- 
ment of the Republic, and the following pages are 
devoted to this new class of settlers. 



and The United States 59 

Sundry causes led to a renewed influx of Hollanders 
into the New World from this date, the first being Holland i.and 
the outcome of the formation of the Holland Land Company 
Company referred to above, which induced farmers in 
Holland to leave their homesteads in the old country 
and to devote their energy to the development of 
lands in New York and Pennsylvania, which they 
offered on easy terms. 

The many Dutch names on the map of the State of 
New York, such as, Barneveld, Amsterdam, Rotter- 
dam, Batavia, Tromp, Linklaen, etc., facilitate the 
task of locating the section where these settlements 
were originally started. From this time dates also the 
arrival of Harmen Jan Huidekoper, so well known in 
the circles of the Unitarian Church, who settled in 
Meadville, Pennsylvania, where the Meadville Theo- 
logical School was afterward established. It was 
once a standard saying that if anybody inquired into 
the basic principles of the Unitarian faith, the answer 
would be ' 'Nobody knows but Huidekoper, and he 
won't tell." 

A further tide of travel toward the West set in from 
Europe on account of the political disturbances during 
the Napoleonic wars, when many of the most ardent 
champions of the popular party considered it advisable 
to leave the country after Holland became a kingdom 
under Napoleon's brother Louis. Among these politi- 
cal exiles were Colonel Adam G. Mappa and Adriaan 
van der Kemp, the former becoming afterwards 
agent of the Holland Land Company, while the 
records of Ulster County Court show that the latter 
held the office of Assistant Justice in that district. 

The next emigration movement took place about 50 
years later, in 1848, and we regret to say that this 



60 



The Dutch i7i New Nether land 



Emigration 
under the rule 
of King 
William T. 



Settlers in 
Iowa under 
Domine Scholte 



Michigan and 
Chicago 



was caused through the curbing of the freedom of re- 
ligion, the one ideal for which the Dutch had fought 
so long a struggle and which in former years had been 
the universal merit of their fatherland, having been 
instrumental in bringing to its cities so many exiles of 
sterling worth, from other countries. 

After the throne of the Corsican had been over- 
thrown and the European powers were once more 
separated by their former boundaries, Holland re- 
mained a kingdom, but this time under the rule of a 
descendant of the house of Orange, King William I. 
However, the business of being King, like any other, 
has to be learned, and it is rather remarkable that Wil- 
liam I. did not realize the necessity of a liberal gov- 
ernment for a people like the Dutch, but ignored all the 
experience and precedents of his ancestors. The old 
form of representative government was changed to a 
bureaucratic rule, which was enforced with an iron 
hand, and the aid of the army, and which lasted until 
the Dutch Government secured his abdication. He 
was succeeded by his son, vv^ho ascended the throne 
under the title of William II. 

In the meantime several pastors, embittered by the 
persecution which they endured, gathered their 
flocks around them and set out in search of a new 
home where they might find rest and freedom . Domine 
Scholte led his faithful followers to the valley of the 
Mississippi, in Iowa, where they settled in Pella, from 
which settlement the now existing Dutch colonies in 
Orange City, Sioux Center and others are the offspring 
of later date. 

Domine van Raalte led his constituents to the shores 
of lake Michigan, where they founded the commun- 
ities of Grand Rapids and Holland, in after years so 



and The United States 



61 



well known for their furniture industry. Also the 
Chicago suburbs, Roseland and Pullman are prin- 
cipally settled by emigrating Dutchmen . 

Dutch colonies in the United States have further 
sprung up through the formation of land companies 
in Holland, which peddled out their large purchases 
in America to their enthusiastic fellow countrymen, 
emigrating in the hope of soon doubling their wealth 
through the fabulous yield of the rich virgin soils of 
these territories. Some succeeded, but many others 
discovered the truth of the old adage "it is not all 
gold that glitters," and lost all they had. In the 
eighties for instance, quite an exodus took place to 
far-off California, where it was claimed that fortunes 
could be made in the fruit growing business, but 
when at last the new orchards began to yield a pro- 
duct, hard times set in and no buyers could be 
found for the crops, which rotted on the trees. 

Another large Dutch centre can be found in Pater- 
son. N. J., where it is estimated that the Dutch colony, 
including the first American born generation, counts 
about 15,000 souls. Jersey has always been a Dutch 
section from the time of the first settlement of that 
region, and many who intended to try their luck in 
the new world, were naturally drawn to surround- 
ings where they might find relatives or friends who 
had already a firm footing in the land which was to be 
their second fatherland. They were, or rather are, 
the emigrants from Friesland and Zeeland especially 
who may be found in Paterson, and the casual 
stranger, passing through North Main street, would 
hardly imagine himself on American soil if he pays 
attention to the names painted on the shop windows, 
which gives the street more the aspect of the principal 
thoroughfare in a Frisian village. 



Fruit Growers 
in California 



Paterson, N. J. 



62 



The Dutch in New Netherland 



The writer, who is himself a Frisian, remembers 
how on the occasion of his first visit to Paterson, 
which was on a Sunday, he happened to be in this 
section of the town, just at the moment that the good 
people were leaving church. To see, in this far-off 
land, the women with their national headgear, the 
well known "ooryzer" and to hear them converse and 
greet each other in their own familiar style, in the 
language of our own northern province, was a real 
pleasure and it was even with a certain amount of 
emotion that it came home to him, how even here, 
only an hour travel from the hustle and bustle of the 
busy surroundings of lower Manhattan , the old familiar 
cheer for " Fryslan boppe " would be met with an 
enthusiastic response. 

Another characteristic colony which should be men- 
tioned is the settlement in Sayville, I/ong Island, on 
the Great South Bay, consisting exclusively of Zee- 
land oyster farmers, which village is the nucleus of the 
oyster industry on Long Island. Like many other 
small communities, Sayville may boast of its fore- 
most citizen who holds more or less the same position 
as the "squire" in an English village. 

Philadelphia has also recently come into the fore- 
ground as a Dutch community with its ' ' Holland 
Society of Philadelphia", to which belong the many 
Hollanders who follow a course of study at the Phila- 
delphia Dental College, and who are destined to 
spread afterwards in the old world the fame of the 
advanced scientific status of American dentistry. 

There was a time when emigration to America in 

Extradition Holland was looked upon as being more or less a dis- 

1872 ^ ^^ ^ ^" grace, casting something of a slur on the character of 

the emigrant who set forth to try his fortune in the 



Sayville. I^. I. 



Philadelphia, 
Pa. 



and The United States 63 

new world. The origin of this w^as found in the 
fact that no Extradition Treaty had been made as yet 
with the United States, which still offered a haven of 
refuge to defaulters or others who were fugitives from 
justice for acts committed in the old country. More- 
over, if there was a black sheep in any family, the 
most convenient wa}^ to get rid of him was to ship him 
over to America and leave him to shift for himself. 
Europe is comparatively small and distances short, so 
that a social exile can always find a way to get back 
to his relatives, even from the remotest part of that 
continent, an enterprising rascal having many ways 
of beating his way back to the fleshpots of Egypt, 
even if he has not a penny in his pocket. If, how- 
ever, his relatives placed a large sheet of water like 
the Atlantic Ocean between themselves and the delin- 
quent, it was looked upon as the surest safeguard 
against the possible reappearance of the afore men- 
tioned black sheep. 

An Extradition Treaty between the two countries, 
however, was signed in 1872, and since that time the 
United States were closed to the fugitives from Dutch 
justice. 

In the same year the ' 'Nederlandsch Amerikaansche 
Stoomvaart Maatschappy" or in English, "Nether- Holland 
land American vSteamnavigation Company" was or- America l,me 
ganized, briefly named "Holland- America Line." 

This line is an offspring of a regular service insti- 
tuted between Rotterdam and New York by the firm 
of shipowners, Messrs. Plate, Reuchlin & Co. Their 
steamers each had room for 10 first cabin passengers 
of which two overnight had to be accommodated on the 
benches in the dining saloon ; couches which were too 
cold and too uncomfortable in winter time, and in 



64 The Dutch in New Netherland 

this season the carrying capacity was accordingly re- 
duced to eight persons. This made no difference 
however, as in winter such a crowd of passengers as 
ten persons, were never expected to materialize. 

The Holland- America Line started its regular ser- 
vice with the two following steamers : 

S.S. "Rotterdam" with a tonnage of 2,100 Tons 
S.S. '*Maas" with a tonnage of 1,800 Tons 

having a speed of 10 knots and a carrying capacity of: 

40 first cabin passengers, 
35 second cabin passengers , 
and 100/150 steerage passengers, 

and if we compare these tiny ocean carriers with the 
latest leviathan of this line, the S.S. "Rotterdam," of 
24,170 Tons Register and 37,190 Tons displacement 
(one of the five largest vessels in the Atlantic pas- 
senger trade, and unsurpassed by any steamer in 
comfortable and luxurious equipment) we must con- 
gratulate the enterprising Directors with the phe- 
nomenal success of their line. 

In mentioning the Dutch mercantile marine in 
West India connection with the United States, we may also point 

Mail to the progress made by the Royal Dutch West India 

Mail. This company originally organized a regular 
mail service between Amsterdam and the Dutch West 
Indian colonies, afterwards extending the route of 
travel to New York and returning again to Holland 
by way of the West Indies. Since last year a separate 
weekly service has been opened by special steamers 
between the colony of Surinam and New York, which 
vessels have been especially fitted up for the carrying 
of bananas for the New York market, while they also 
have excellent passenger accommodation. 



and The United States 



65 



During the latter part of the 19th century we have 
seen a renewed emigration from Holland en masse, 
forming Dutch communities in certain sections. In 
recent years, such emigration has ceased and those 
who come over now, come as individuals prepared to 
make their way on the strength of their personal 
merits. 

In these communities there exists, as a matter of 
course, a certain amount of characteristic Dutch social 
life, with its special social events and news. These 
conditions have given birth to several Dutch news- 
papers, which in general outline give the news from 
the Fatherland, the American news, and, last but not 
least, the social gossip of the community. There are 
at present 16 of such publications in the United States, 
divided as follows over the different states : 

2 in Paterson, N. J. 

1 in Rochester, N. Y. 

1 in Chicago, 111. 

2 in Grand Rapids, Mich. 

1 in Pella, la. 

2 in De Pere, Wis. 

3 in Holland, Mich. 

1 in Kalamazoo, Mich. 

2 in Orange City, la. 
1 in Sioux Center, la. 



Hollaud news- 
papers n 
America 



Curiously enough there is no Dutch newspaper in 
New York City, but it should be added that, though 
there are several thousand Hollanders in greater New 
York, they are scattered all over the city, and differ 
greatly in social status, so that little or no unity exists 
among them. There are Dutch bankers, lawyers, 
architects, clerks, artisans, waiters, in short, there 
are Hollanders in almost every part of the mercantile 



Conditions in 
New York City 



Professionals 
as emigrants 



66 The Dutch in New Netherlajid 

or industrial life of the great city and, taken as a 
whole, they are reckoned as foremost to a remarkable 
degree amongst their colleagues in each particular 
sphere of occupation. 

This condition not only exists in New York, but we 
jSnd Hollanders scattered all over the Union, engaged 
in the most varied occupations. Through the large 
financial interests of Holland in several of the Western 
Railroads, quite a few Dutchmen are connected with 
these enterprises. In Port Arthur, Texas, a Dutch 
land company, with Dutch employees, is engaged in 
aiding to develop this port. The City of Galveston, 
almost entirely destroyed by the great hurricane and 
flood of a few years ago, has her city level raised by a 
Dutch contracting firm. In Texas we find Dutch rice 
farmers and even in the Dominion of Our Lady of the 
Snows; we find Dutch importing houses in the cities 
of Toronto and Winnipeg. 

In a "Holland- American Almanac," published in 
1883, more especially written for the benefit of intend- 
ing emigrants, we find the rather curious warning 
that ''there is no bread for professionals in America," 
and that it is only advisable for skilled laborers and 
servant-girls to come to the United States. Though 
we are at a loss to understand what is exactly meant 
by "professionals," we presume that this refers to 
people following vocations which require some learn- 
ing. Perhaps conditions have changed since then, 
but if our interpretation of the expression cited above 
be correct, we might point out to the writer of this 
almanac many examples of "professional" men 
amongst our fellow countrymen, who have been very 
successful here. In fact, there is room for all pro- 
fessions, provided the young men who come over here 



and The United States 67 

possess the necessary knowledge, courage and perse- 
verance to grapple with their new life in a strange 
country. The population of the United States in- 
creases yearly about one and a half million, mostly 
through emigration, and, as the optimistic American 
is wont to say ''lue need them all.'''' This country is 
only beginning to grow, and offers plenty of opportu- 
nity for those who come with the firm intention of 
succeeding. This, as a matter of course, depends on 
personal ability and inclination, and it must be ex- 
pected that, notwithstanding the opportunities, the 
weak ones must be "failures" and fall by the way, 
even sooner than they would at home, where the 
helping hand of relatives or friends may be more 
promptly available. 

Referring again to conditions in New York City, 
it should not be concluded that in our city there exists 
no nucleus of Dutch social life. Away back in 1864 
there was founded the society "Bendracht Maakt 
Macht," having for its object the promotion of social 
life amongst the Hollanders, while a fund was further 
created for support of its members in case of sickness 
and for the defraying of funeral expenses. Most of 
the members of this society, however, were, (and 
are), people of limited means, who could not go much 
further than the occasional hiring of a hall, where 
their meetings were held, and their annual St. 
Nicholas celebrations took place. 

Thus matters stood, when, in 1901, some of our 
Hollanders endeavored to bring enough of the scat- 
tered elements together to organize a dinner at the 
"Holland House," in celebration of the Queen's 
marriage in February of that year, w^hich proved such 
a success that it was decided to repeat this again some 
time during the next winter season. 



68 



The D2itch in New Nether land 



The Nether- 
land Chamber 
of Commerce in 
America 



The following year the Hollanders met again, this 
time at the "Manhattan Hotel," under presidency of 
Her Majesty's Minister at Washington, D. C, W. A. 
F. Baron Gevers. At this gathering, His Excellency 
took the initiative in submitting a plan to bring the 
several Dutch elements of this city permanently to- 
gether, either by the creation of a Netherland Cham- 
ber of Commerce, a Club, or a Benevolent Society, or 
all three; and a committee was at once appointed to 
take these matters under consideration, and to report 
at a later date. 

Before proceeding with our narrative, we wish to 
extend a word of thanks to Baron Gevers for his ini- 
tiative in this matter. The possibility of creating 
something by united effort had often been discussed, 
but nobody had ever seriously tried to bring it about. 

Most of the Hollanders were comparatively strangers 
to each other. The writer remembers how during the 
first years of his sojourn in this city, he only occa- 
sionally met any of his fellow countrymen, owing to 
the enormous distances in our city, and the great 
variet}' of occupation of the Hollanders in New York. 

The first outcome of the deliberations of this Com- 
mittee was the incorporation on May the 28th, 1903, of 
' ' The Netherland Chamber of Commerce in America, ' ' 
wdth ofl&ces at 68 Broad Street, which, in October of 
last year, were moved to 136 Water Street. The 
Chamber is now in the seventh year of its existence, 
and during that period has received numerous in- 
quiries for information, as well from merchants in 
Holland and the colonies, as from exporters and im- 
porters in the United States. The annual reports 
give a synopsis of its activities and events have shown 
that the Chamber provides for existing needs in the 



and The United States 



69 



commercial relations between the United States and 
the Netherlands. 

The organization in now engaged in a campaign 
placing before the public the facilities of the port of 
Willemstad on the island of Curasao, which promises 
to become the centre of maritime traffic in the Carib- 
bean sea, after the opening of the Panama Canal, and 
it was with great satisfaction that it recently learned 
of the formation of a syndicate in Holland, having as 
object the enlarging of the shipping facilities at 
that port. 

The formation of the Chamber of Commerce was 
follow^ed a few months later by the incorporation of 
' ' The Netherla7id Club of New York, ' ' which opened 
its Club building at 47 Kast 25th Street, in October of 
the same year. This club has become a real "Dutch 
Home" in New York and is now the rendezvous of 
most travelling Hollanders who come to our city. 

Many a young Hollander, who has come to New 
York as a total stranger, has profited by the advice 
and information to be gathered among these homelike 
surroundings, which formerly he would have had to 
learn by hard and expensive personal experience, and 
not a few have succeeded in obtaining positions through 
the assistance and influence of acquaintances made in 
this Club. 

It was through the initiative of the officers of the 
Netherland Club that H. M. protected cruiser "Gel- 
derland" visited the port of New York in the summer 
of 1907, and the enthusiastic welcome which the 
officers and crew received on that occasion, from 
Americans as well as from Hollanders, has demon- 
strated the bond of friendship which still exists so 
strongly between Old and New Netherland. 



The Nether- 
land Club of 
New York 



70 



The Dutch in New Nether land 



The Nether- 
land Benevo- 
lent Society of 
New York 



After these two organizations had been launched in 
1903, it was considered inadvisable to attempt at the 
same time the formation of a benevolent society, as 
quite a demand had been made already upon the 
generosity of our small community, in order to get the 
Chamber and the Club on a firm footing. In Febru- 
ary, 1908, the project w^as, how^ever, brought up again, 
and a committee appointed to prepare the necessary 
plans, A few months later the plans were complete, 
and ' ' The Netherland Benevolent Society of New 
Kcri^." with oifices at 11 Broadway, was organized. 
Her Majesty, Queen Wilhelmina, was petitioned to 
favor the new society by becoming its Protectress, 
which petition was favorably received. During the 
first year of its activity, following the financial and 
commercial panic of 1907, this society has already 
done a good deal of work, by either assisting stranded 
Hollanders with loans in ready money, by procuring 
them a place of refuge, or by aiding them in ob- 
taining work. 

Though these organizations are now well under 
w^ay and to the best of their ability endeavoring to 
answer the purposes for which they were created, it 
should not be imagined that are all as prosperous as 
might be the case. 



In our colony there are comparative!}^ few who are 
well to do, so that the burden of all these societies 
falls on the one small community. Also the work to 
be done is of such nature that it has to be taken up in 
turn by a very few of the same small circle. It is 
therefore of the utmost necessity that they retain the 
support of their patrons in Holland and of all those 
who, directly or indirectly, reap the benefits of our 
activity for the national cause. 



and The United States 



71 



In drawing a picture of social life amongst the 
Hollanders in New York, we may not omit to mention 
the dean of our colony, Mr, John Rutger Planten, the 
Consul-General of the Netherlands in New York, 
who has now been in the consular service for over 
35 years. 

During these years he has gained many friends 
through his genial manners, universal kindness and 
his ever ready willingness to lend a helping hand 
whenever his assistance is requested to further a 
good cause. 

The general respect and friendship of the Dutch 
Colony towards him was demonstrated by a reception 
tendered to Mr. Planten last winter, to celebrate the 
thirty-fifth anniversary of his appointment as Consul, 
and when Her Majesty's Minister, Jhr. Dr. J. Loudon, 
announced that Her Majesty had commissioned him 
to inform Mr. Planten of Her appreciation of his 
service, as a token whereof She conferred upon him 
the order of ' 'De Nederlandsche Leeuw, ' ' the hearty 
cheers which were heard told better than many written 
volumes how beloved he is by his fellow citizens; we 
hope sincerely that for man}' years to come we may 
have him among us. 

This is, in short the history of the Dutch in these 
regions, from their first advent to the present day. 
Many have come before us and many will come after 
us, and it is more especially for the latter that this 
booklet has been written, so that they may know, be- 
fore starting out to make history for themselves, 
what their predecessors have done. A word of advice 
to our young and inexperienced countrymen who 
come to this country to make it their future home, 
may therefore not be out of place. They will come to 



Our Consul 
General 



Advice to 
newcomers 



72 The Dutch in New Netherland 

a strange land with a ver}^ mixed population and 
strange manners, materially differing from those they 
knew at home. They will be apt to make compari- 
sons and the sum of their conclusions will always be 
in favor of conditions in the fatherland. Our advice 
is, — don't do it, — make no comparisons, — take things 
as they are, for all your criticism and grumbling will 
not make things different. Whatever 3-ou ma}^ think 
strange or unjust, be assured that there is a reason 
for it, and usually a very good reason, too. If you 
don't like things American, you may be certain that 
America Tsill not change because you do not approve, 
but, on the contrary, America is likely to change you. 
Grumbling and dissatisfaction with things as they are 
will only make you unhappy and unfit, but the world 
will go on just the same. Just as American ways 
may seem peculiar to you, so your ways may seem to 
Americans, but usually they will be too polite and too 
experienced to make any remarks about it. Therefore, 
in critizising, do not forget that it may be once again 
the case of the mote and the beam. When you are in 
Rome, do as the Romans do. When you come to 
America, be an American, and you will soon find how 
much good there is in this country which is not 
found elsewhere. If a country offers you hospitality, 
it may expect that you do your duty by it and give it 
your hearty co-operation. Whether Dutch or Eng- 
lish, German or Irish, Swede or Italian, Jew or 
Gentile, we are all alike and all have to give the best 
that is in us to further the welfare of the Union and 
the prosperit}' of the countr}-. You earn American 
Dollars and eat American bread, and therefore, be 
American. Do no hold aloof because the strangers 
you meet have other ideas and other views of things 
than you have. Mingle with the crowd and they will 



and The United States 73 

soon cease to be strangers, their ideas will become 
yours and 3'ou -^dll feel at home and learn to appre- 
ciate what at first looked irrational . At the same time, 
be a Hollander, by upholding the dignity of our 
Nation and our ancestors, as it has been upheld for 
centuries by those Americans who are descendants of 
the first Dutchmen who settled here. Do not forget 
that the past is gone forever but that the future lies 
before us. Conditions have changed and there are 
no more new lands to be discovered, but in other ways 
there is plenty of opportunity' to push forward and to 
spread the name of the people of Holland as a people 
of integrity and sterling merit. We have no right to 
stand forever on the record of our ancestors but we 
ourselves will some day be history of the past, and it 
is up to us to see that our descendants can look back 
upon us, the pilgrims of the latter days, with the 
same pride as we do upon our ancestors. 

Before concluding we wish to extend a hearty wel- 
come to our countrymen who have undertaken the 
long voyage across the ocean in order to be with us 
during our celebration, and we hope that our en- 
deavors may have aided them in recalling those 
events of the past which go to make this tercentennial 
celebration an occasion of such importance for our 
State and Citv. 




y 

New York, September 10, 1909 



ALBERT HEPP & CO. 

PRI NTERS 

N EW YORK CITY 



OCT 7 1009 



U6RABY0FC0NGRES 




